Memory Trap
by vinterthunder
Summary: What will happen when the Senshi and Shitennou meet each other again? But this time only one of them have the complete memory of the past.
1. After the storm

_It was two weeks since we defeated the Beryl and the Dark Kingdom. Everyone's life is back to normal, at least that's what it seems like. I'm glad Usagi and her friends are safe. They are living happy normal lives again. Except that for me, I don't know what's normal anymore. _

_It was difficult having no one in my life. I was used to it since my parents passed away when I was young. Meeting Usagi has been like discovering my family that I never knew existed. But so is meeting the Shitennou. It's difficult to pinpoint what I really feel about them. I know they were there with me, a long time ago. For a minute there, I thought I had found my other family. I felt a strong bond with them. We had been through so much together. _

_I can remember them from the Silver Millennium time if I try, but I don't want to. It's painful. Who wants to remember someone you knew you're never going to meet again? What wants to recall wonderful memories, only to realize that they would never ever happen again? Why would I want to keep them alive in my memories if all I have about them are their stones. I've lost four brothers, and I'll never get them back._

—

"Hi Usagi" Mamoru walked to the Crown fruit parlor where they were supposed to meet. Mamoru noticed that the other four girls were already there with his bunny.

"Hi Mamo-chan. I miss you." Usagi said and rushed over to hug him.

"Not in public, Usagi." Despite his words, he looked pretty happy.

"Well, you're not going to be here this summer. I have to be with you as much as I can." Usagi pouted a little.

"It's only a summer training, Usagi. I will be back before you know it." Mamoru said.

"I think studying a summer course at Harvard is a wonderful opportunity. I'm so excited for you, Mamoru." Ami chimed in.

"Yeah, except that I won't see you for 2 months." Usagi said with her sad puppy eyes.

"You can use those 2 months planning his 18-birthday party, Usagi. You'll have your handful. You can even learn to bake a cake with me." Makoto said to Usagi.

"Are you sure 2 months is going to be enough for Usagi to learn to bake?" Rei said.

"Oh come on. I'm not that bad at cooking." Usagi said.

"You don't need to do anything, Usagi. Just seeing will be the most wonderful present for my birthday." Mamoru smiled at Usagi.

"I'm so glad you two are happy. We've been waiting for this since our past lives. And it finally happens." Minako said but her cheerful bubbly personality was not here.

Seeing Minako was not her usual self, Mamoru realized that she might be thinking about the Shitennou. Minako and other girls were right there when they died. It must have been painful. He couldn't imagine how he would react if Usagi were to die right in front of him.

"I have thinking about the Shitennou too." Mamoru said.

"How did you know I was thinking about them?" Minako asked.

"I know, Minako. They were all on our minds. It's a memory that I don't know how to deal with." Mamoru said and looked down at the ground. He sighed heavily.

"It's weird. I remembered them in Silver Millennium. I remembered….me and Zoicite, but I don't remember everything that happened between us. It's like he was there in my memory, but at the same time not. I remembered how I felt, but I just can't figure out what happened exactly. It was like …. a dream, a hazy painful dream." Ami said with her usual analytical look.

"I'll never forget the time he looked at me and called my name before…it happened." Minako said.

"I think they remembered us, even if it was only for a split second." Makoto said.

"It seems like we have similar memories about them. I know that I was really close with them. They felt like a family to me, but I can't recall exactly what we did together. The only memories I got are when they swore to be my Generals and when they joined Beryl and invaded the Moon. Everything in-between is kind of blurry." Mamoru said.

"I believe that they must be alive. If the Silver Crystal healed us all, why couldn't it help the Shitennou as well?" Usagi said.

"You didn't know for sure if the Silver Crystal has helped them?" Minako asked.

"No, not really. I'm still learning to control the Crystal. I think I don't even know what it is really capable of. And it's kind of acting on its own." Usagi explained.

"I would have brought it up sooner, but I was afraid it would be too painful for you girls. After all, you were there when they… got killed." Mamoru said.

"You're right about that, Mamoru. It was good not to talk about them right away. I don't think I can take it. There were so many things going on. It was good to settle down a bit before thinking about the past." Minako said.

"I think we should move on." Rei said.

"You mean —" Minako said.

"Forget about them. They are just memories. Memories that we can't even recall fully. It's best just to let go of them." Rei said.

"Can you really do that?" Mamoru asked.

"I have to try, Mamoru. We all have to try. It's not worth it to dwell on the past. There's nothing we can do about it now." Rei said.

_Letting go isn't an option for me. I have to find out whether they are alive or not. Maybe it's a hopeless cause considering the girls saw them get killed right before their eyes. But Usagi and the Crystal has made miracles happen. I dreamed about them several times this week. Maybe it's a sign. Maybe we will meet again._

_Maybe._

—

Revised 2015-08-08

AN. I decided to revise the earlier chapters to best suit the storyline. Hope you like this one!


	2. You look familiar

At the Chess tournament competition.

Ami is a regular competitor at the international chess competition. She is among the best in her age group. This time the competition is in Tokyo. She's excited to have all her friends seeing her at the competition as well. This is the first competition that Ami will have the support of her senshi fellows. Chess has always been a way for Ami to think about things, at least that's what she tells herself. The competition has always been just another thing that she excels at. But this time, she will have her friends' support, and there will be someone to cheer her on and celebrate with her when she wins. This seems a lot better than an isolated lonely victory she has have in the past.

Ami is sitting at the lobby of the hotel holding the competition. She's just checking in the hotel. Even though, the competition is in her hometown, it's still much better for her concentration to stay at the hotel where the competition takes place. Although, she's a bit worried that her friends may get her distracted a bit, but Ami believes that it will be an encouraging distraction.

The automatic glass doors open, a lean blonde boy walk in with the competition organizer.

Ami thinks to herself, _He looks familiar. _

The organizer of the event quickly calls Ami.

"Good morning, Mizuno. It's great to have you at our event."

"The pleasure is mine. Thank you very much hosting the event." Ami answers.

"Oh, Mizuno. This is Zachary Sato. He's a middle school student from Germany. He's the current champion of the European division this year. Sato, this is Mizuno Ami, the national champion from last year."

"Nice to meet you, Mizuno. I've heard a lot about you. I'm looking forward to seeing you play." He says and extends his right hand for a handshake.

"Likewise" Ami answers as she shakes his hand.

When their hands touch, Ami feels a flash of memory, which makes her pause for a second.

_He is Zoicite. I know it._ Ami thinks.

"For some reason, I feel like I've known her before. But from where?" Zac thinks.

Zac slowly walks away while looking at Ami and says "See you in the tournament, Mizuno."

_Does he not remember?_ Ami wonders. In her heart, she knows it has to be hime. But her analytical mind tells her that it's far more likely that she's just meeting someone who happens to look like hime. After all, the odds of meeting a stranger whose look's like General Zoicite is far far greater than meeting the real him again.

_I probably need a good sleep before the competition._ Ami shrugs and enters the elevator to go to her room.

At the semi-final match, Ami is playing against Knut, a middle school student from Norway.

Zac is watching Ami against his friend. He is always meticulous about studying his opponent before the game. And since whoever wins this game will face him in the final, there's no way he's going to let the opportunity to study his final opponent get away.

_She's pretty good, isn't she? _Zac thinks.

_Why do I feel like I've seen her playing style before?_ He tries to search for an answer. As a person who extensively studying everything he's passionate about, he's sure that he knows all the major playing styles. He can't seem to figure out why Ami's chess-playing style feels so familiar to him.

Ami is making smart moves one after another. Knut begins to feel nervous as he's trying to think of strategic moves to beat Ami.

Zac notices how much trouble Knut is in. Zac has played against Knut several times. He even lost to Knut once. Zac is obviously surprised that this girl can easily corner Knut within 7 minutes into the game.

_She really is amazing. _Zac thinks.

Zac gets the nudge to predict Ami's next moves. It's something he normally does when he's watching the game, anyway.

Moves after moves, Zac finds himself surprised at how accurate he could predict her moves.

_I've definitely seen her playing style before. Or have I played with her before? But that's impossible. I've never met her and her strategy is too unique. It can't be that she's just imitating someone's._

"Checkmate" Ami says quietly but with a beam of excitement.

"The winner of this semi-final is Mizuno Ami. Congratulations." the MC announced. Ami and Knut shake hands.

"For the final of the middle school division, Mizuno Ami will be facing our current champion, Sato Zachary." the MC continues.

Ami and Zac both look at each other for a moment. Zac gives Ami his usual cunning grin. He can't wait to play against her. Not only she's a fantastic player, but he also can't shake off the feeling of having seen her play before. Maybe playing with her in the final will give him some clues. Curiosity has always been one of his whims, and the puzzle he feels with this girl will never elude his mind.

"Will see you in the final, mysterious girl." Zac whispers to himself.

Ami catches Zac grinning at her, she smiles back a little but she looks at him with conflicting feeling.

_I guess you don't remember me._ Ami thinks.

_But maybe that's for the best._

—

The day before the final match, Ami is sitting at a cafe nearby the tournament venue. Zac is walking back from meeting his grandparents and seeing Ami through the window and decides to go in.

"May I sit with you?" Zac sees that she's reading but decides to interrupt anyway.

"I'm sorry, I -" Ami was going to tell him off, but she looks up and sees Zac. Obviously, she's stunned.

"_Zoicite" _Ami can't forget the fact that this guy looks so much like Zoicite that she keeps referring to Zachary as Zoicite.

Ami quickly recovers herself and smiles back.

"Yes, please." Ami says to Zac.

"Thank you. I hope I'm not interrupting." Zac says while he's pulling off the chair and sits down.

_Way to go, Zac. Asking a stupid question. She's reading, duh." _Zac can't help but feel like an idiot. How could he say stupid things like that. He's smart. He knows better than this.

"That's fine. I was just about to take a break anyway." Ami puts down her book and takes off her glasses.

"You look nice with glasses." Zac compliments her as if it's the most natural thing in the world to say.

Ami blushes a little.

"Don't get me wrong. You look great without them too. But when you're wearing them, you seems so - captivating" _Wait, why did I say that? _Zac's surprised at himself. He's usually a natural-lady man. Just dropping a compliment is a second nature to him. Why did I have to cover it up?

"Thank you" Ami says with a smile.

Zac didn't say that for him captivating actually means sexy, but he knows he can't say that to a girl he just met. Not a smart girl like Ami anyway.

"Are you prepared for tomorrow?" Zac asks.

"I think I am , but with chess, you can never be too sure. The unexpected happens."

"And that's the beauty of it." _Same as you. _Zac thinks.

But then he's surprised at himself again. He's never met Ami before. How does he know she often do the unexpected? Surprising at his own thoughts, Zac looks a little confused and spaced out.

"Are you ok?" Ami asks

Zac gets back to the present and says "Sorry I spaced out a little."

"Don't worry about it. We, chess players, always do that. We are just thinkers. We think and analyze everything. It's just who we are." Ami replies.

Zac chuckles "I couldn't agree more."

Zac signals to the waitress and order a tea.

"You were really good the other day. How long have you been playing chess?" Zac starts his inquiry.

"I've been playing with my father and his friend since I was little. My father moved away when I was ten but his friend still invites me to play chess with him from time to time." Ami explains. "He's Adrian Redford."

"The legendary chess player Adrain Redford? No wonder you're so good. You've learned from the best." Zac exclaims.

"Yes, I'm so grateful to learn from him. But to be honest, at that time I wasn't really thinking about excelling in chess. I was just trying to keep the memories of my father. I feel like I'm somehow playing with my dad whenever I play with Mr. Redford."

_Why did I tell him this? I don't usually tell people something so personal, maybe Usagi as an exception, but that's about it. Let alone a stranger she's just met a few days ago. _Ami wonders and regrets saying that for a second but then she decides to let it go. For once, she's going to trust her feeling and do what she feels like doing.

"How about you, Sato? When did you start playing chess?" Ami asks

"Please call me, Zac."

Ami gives a small nod and smiles.

"I actually just started a few years ago. I felt like I needed to sharpen my thinking, so I joined the chess club at school. Well, to be honest, my dad was nagging me to play sports. He was a little worried because I just stayed home or at the library reading all the time. So I joined the chess club. And I told him, it's a sport too. We have clubs, training, tournaments and everything just like any other sports." Zac says humorously.

"And your dad was ok with that?" Ami laughs softly.

"He wasn't so thrilled in the beginning but my mom said it's ok because at least I got to meet new friends and get out of the house." Zac says with a chuckle.

"I think my parents were worrying the same thing about me when I was little. But then my dad's always away from home and my mom's busy at the hospital so they were just happy enough that I got good grades." Ami says with a hint of sadness.

"You think your parents don't care about you." Zac ventures a guess.

Ami's surprised at how insightful his comment is.

"Hmm, maybe. Sometimes I feel like I'm not important enough to them. That's why they're always working. So I'm trying to be independent and study hard so they don't have to worry." Ami explains.

"You're very strong, Mizuno." Zac comments. _She looks strong and independent but at the same time, I can feel the vulnerable side of her, like she's a frozen lake that it's surface may crack at any moment. I feel that she keeps her appearance cold and keeps a maelstrom underneath ._

"What were you reading, Mizuno?" Sensing that she's feeling sad, Zac changes the subject.

"Call me Ami" She's a little shocked at herself again for letting him call her by her first name. Maybe the trusting nature of Usagi is rubbing off on her.

"I'm -" She paused because she can't exactly tell him that since she met him a few days ago, she has been thinking about Zoicite. So she borrowed a book on stones from Mamoru as if reading about Zoisite, the stone will make her think of, the Zoicite the shitennou, less.

"My friend's researching on stones and minerals so I'm helping him." Ami managed to find a plausible excuse.

"Mineral stones are fascinating, aren't they? I even have one with me." Zac says and then shows his necklace.

"It's Zoisite. My grandfather gave it to me when I was young. Even though he was a grandfather from my dad's side, he was nothing like my dad. My father's always tough and macho, and he's kind of disappointed that I'm not like him. But my grandfather always tells me that it's ok to be who I am. My grandpa thought it was great that I read and think about things. He said that I am different but I will do great things one day, and he gave me this stone to remind me of that." Zac explains with fond memories of his grandfather.

_So he may have some memories from the past, but it doesn't seem like he remember much. He remembers bits and pieces, maybe? At least I'm happy that he still has Zoicite the shintennou in him._

"So Ami, which stone do you like most" Zac asks curiously.

"What?" Ami snapped out of her thoughts and has a puzzling look.

"You're researching stones, right? There's gotta be one you like more than the others." Zac asks

"Hm, I think Zoisite is fascinating." Ami replies.

Zac grins as he hears Ami's answer.

"Your Japanese is very good, Zac." Ami tries to change the subject.

"Thank you. My father is Japanese so I try to perfect it as much as I can." Zac explains

_Perfect it. That does sound like him. _Ami ponders as she recalls her past life memory of the general Zoicite.


	3. Curiosity

At Silver Millennium

Now that all the senshi have found out about their princess's escape to meet prince Endymion on earth, they have decided that they had better learn more about this planet. All four senshi decided that each of them will take turn accompany their princess to earth, and while they were there, they will learn more about this sapphire planet that their princess loves so much.

Today's Mercury's first time to accompany princess Serenity.

"What should I prepare for this trip, Venus?" Mercury asked.

"There's nothing to prepare really." Venus answered.

"The planet looks….quite…uncivilized." Mercury said.

"It looks like that in pictures, but it actually is a lot more sophisticated than in the books, Mercury. I've already talked to General Nephrite, he will have someone accompany you to see the earth's arts and cultures. You'll be surprised to see how far they have come." Jupiter chimed in.

"Well, I will just have to go there and see. If you two don't think I need any special preparation, I'm off then." Mercury said and hurriedly rushed to see princess Serenity.

—

"Princess, I will be back to pick you up before dawn. Please take care of yourself. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to contact me." Mercury said to Serenity.

"Don't worry, Mercury. I'm safe as long as I'm with Endymion. I can also contact you telepathically if anything urgent happens. Our telepathic communication works just as fine on earth as on the moon." Serenity reassured her worried guardian.

"I'll be off then." Mercury bowed to Serenity and Endymion.

"General Zoicite is waiting for you in the hall. He'll accompany you tonight." Endymion said to Mercury.

Mercury nodded and walked into the hall where she met General Zoicite.

"You must be Sailor Mercury. I'm General Zoicite." Zoicite greeted her.

_You look a bit polished for a general. _

"Your spoken Lunarian is flawless, general." Mercury said.

"Coming from you is very flattering, but I'm still learning. I'll be honored if you can teach me more sometime." Zoicite said with a smile.

_I hope that's just a formality. Is this the way people talk here? _Mercury wondered.

"I've been told that you are the most intelligent senshi of the Moon Kingdom. I suppose you will be interested in learning more about Terran's cultures." Zoicite asked.

"No need for flattery, General. And yes, I'm very much interested in learning more about Terran's cultures."

"Very well then. We shall move to the Grand Hall of the palace then." Zoicite suggested.

"What's in the Grand Hall?" Mercury asked.

"Well, you'd better see it yourself, Sailor Mercury." Zoicite answered with a proud smile.

—-

"Welcome to the best collection of Terran arts". Zoicite said and gestured Mercury into the Grand Hall.

Mercury couldn't hide her excitement when she saw the splendid hall with endless beautiful paintings and sculptures.

"With the risk of bragging, I have to say that most of the arts here are from my land." Zoicite said with pride.

"Your land?" Mercury asked curiously.

"Here in Terran, besides the Central land here, there are four other lands; West, East, South and Far West. Each land is unique and together with the Central land, we become the Middle Kingdom." Zoicite explained.

"You're saying that most of these arts are from your land, correct?" Mercury asked.

"Yes, the West."

"Your people are very impressive, General."

"Where I come from we take great pride in being the best in arts and cultures, as you can see here in the Grand Hall. Perhaps you will be interested in going to the West to see the original place where all these magnificent arts were born? I'd be happy to take you there."

"Thank you for the generous offer, General. Maybe some other time." Mercury answered.

They both walked around the Grand Hall. Zoicite explained each piece of arts to Mercury one after another.

_The culture on Earth is a lot more impressive than I thought. Jupiter wasn't lying. This is really impressive. Some pieces are even better than ones on the Moon. _Mercury thought.

"Next I will take you to, what I guess will be your favorite, the Palace Library." Zoicite said to Mercury.

She almost jumped with excitement. _How did he know that I loved libraries? Is it that obvious to read me? _Mercury wondered.

They walked into the Palace Library. Mercury exclaimed with amazement when she say thousands and thousands of books stacked neatly on well-carved shelves, right from the floor up to the ceiling, which is easily four or five-storied tall.

_This is maybe twice, no, three times larger than the largest library in the Moon Kingdom. _Mercury thought.

Zoicite saw Mercury's excitement and said with a huge smile "Here on earth, we like to learn, Sailor Mercury. There are countless things to observe and learn here; plants, animals, people, stars, mountains, you name it. And we like to write things down to pass on to the next generations."

Mercury couldn't help but feel at home at the Terran Palace Library. She loves the Moon Kingdom, but there is a part of her feeling that the Moon lacks the spirit of inquiry and thirst for knowledge. It's almost too peaceful on the Moon that sometimes it's not interesting and challenging enough to satisfy her intellectual curiosity.

"Would you mind if I look into some of the books?" Mercury asked.

"Of course not, Sailor Mercury. That's why I brought you here." Zoicite responded with kindness.

—

Zoicite and Mercury ended spending hours in the Palace Library. Mercury would look at the books and asked Zoicite questions. He explained and then she asked more. They discussed things for hours and hours.

_I've never felt so alive like this in a long time. _Mercury thought. _This place is really fascinating. _

Zoicite looked at the sky brimming with a light ray of sun. "It appeared that the dawn has come, Sailor Mercury. I should return you to Princess Serenity."

"Of course. Thank you very much for accompanying me tonight, General." Mercury thanked him.

"I really hope I can learn more about Terran culture, General. It's fascinating. Thank you for showing me the knowledge and culture of your people." Mercury said as they walked back to see Endymion and Serenity.

"The pleasure is mine, Sailor Mercury. And may I add that your Terran reading is fantastic. You had no problem understanding Terran writings at all." Zoicite complimented her.

"I'm a book nerd, General. I learn things from books. I learned Terran from books, so my reading is pretty good. But I haven't had the chance to practice my spoken Terran." Mercury smiled at him.

"Until now?" Zoicite smiled back.

Mercury smiled "Yes, until now. How did you learn spoken Lunarian, anyway?".

"Well, everything can be perfected, Sailor Mercury, if we think it's important enough. I have the feeling that Lunarian will be useful someday. And I was right." Zoicite said.

"That doesn't answer my question, General." Mercury said with a smile.

"Lunarians and Terrans may be forbidden to communicate freely, but knowledge knows no boundaries, Sailor Mercury. It will make it way to you if you are seeking." Zoicite explained.

_Now I really need to know more about you. _Mercury thought as they both reached the garden where Endymion and Serenity were.

"Thank you very much again for tonight, General. I had a great time." Mercury said and gave a small bow.

"You're welcome. I had a great time as well, Sailor Mercury. I hope we will meet again some time." Zoicite answered and bowed back.

Sailor Mercury smiled as she and Serenity teleported back to the moon.

"Looks like you had a great date, Mercury." Serenity said.

"A date? It was not a date, princess. It was a formal state visit." Mercury hurriedly denied.

"Well, you usually don't keep smiling when you come back from state visits." Serenity teased.

Mercury realized that she had been smiling and put both her hands on her cheeks to stop her face from smiling.

"Looks like I got you there." Serenity said with a grin.

"Anyway, Princess, we are home now, so if you don't mind, I'll be excused to my chamber now. I have a lot of work to do." Mercury said to Serenity.

"Fine, fine. What work do you have anyway? I thought you cleared everything up before we went to Earth." Serenity asked.

Mercury just smiled while walking away to her chamber. _To perfect her Terran, of course._

—


	4. Stargazer

Everybody was at the Crown game center after school.

Ami and Makoto were talking to each other while Usagi was engrossing in Sailor V game.

"I loved seeing you play chess yesterday, Ami. I had no idea watching a chess tournament can be this excited." Makoto said to her dear friend.

"Too bad you lost to that guy, though. It was very close." Makoto commented. She hardly sees Ami lost at anything, be it studying, exam, game, swimming, or whatever. So the first time she saw her friend lost at something, she couldn't help but seeing it as an out-of-character event for Ami.

"He was really good, that's why. I think it was a good match. I learned a lot and I will continue to improve myself." Ami explained.

"You seemed a little distracted, though." Makoto wondered because usually her intelligent friend has a laser-sharp focus.

"You looked at the guy a lot, what's his name, Zachary?" Mako teased Ami.

"In chess, you have to read your opponent, Mako-chan. That was what I was doing." Ami defended herself.

"Are you sure? I didn't really see his face clearly because we were far away, but I could still see that he was quite handsome, right?" Makoto teased Ami.

"Oh lost again!" Usagi lamented.

"Ami-chan, Mako-chan, let's go watch a movie. The new romantic movie just came up. Naru-chan and Umino said it was very good." Usagi asked.

"I can't, Usagi. I have to go to the planetarium. Professor Anderson invited me to join him in observing the meteor-shower tonight." Ami answered.

"Also, Usagi, shouldn't you be watching a romantic movie with your boyfriend. You are not single like we are, so take advantage of it." Makoto teased Usagi.

"But Mako-chan, you're free, right?" Usagi asked.

"Actually, I promised Ami I would go to the planetarium with her, to be her bodyguard and walk her home" Mako answered. It's not like it's a big deal anyway. Ami's and Mako's apartments are in the same area.

"Oh well, you two have fun then. I will go see if Mamo-chan is free." Usagi waved good bye to the two girls.

—

At the planetarium, Professor Anderson welcomed Ami and Makoto.

"Glad to see that you can come, Mizuno. Tonight's meteor-shower is going to be amazing."

"Good evening, Professor Anderson. This is my friend Kino Makoto. We go to the same school." Ami introduced Makoto.

"Nice to meet you, Kino. If you are a friend of Mizuno, you might be a genius as well." Professor Anderson asked with a smile.

"Oh no, I'm not a genius like Ami. But I'm trying to learn from her." Mako answered.

Makoto noticed a boy with long brown hair looking into the telescope.

"Oh sorry, I forgot to introduce. Nate, come here for a moment. Mizuno, Kino, this is an exchange student from the US, Nathan Becker. He will be staying here for a few weeks." Professor Anderson said while gesturing Nate to get his eyes off the telescope.

Makoto and Ami were shocked when they saw Nate's full face.

_This can't be happening. He looks exactly like Nephrite. Am I the only one seeing this? _Makoto thought while looked at her friend, who had a similar surprised reaction. Makoto knew in that instance that Ami felt the same way she did.

"Hi. I'm Nathan Becker. But you can call me Nate. Nice to meet you all." Nate greeted the girls while extending his right hand for a handshake.

"Nate is a senior at high school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mizuno and Kino here are students at Juuban middle school." Professor Anderson explained.

Makoto hardly heard anything after seeing Nate's face. But she still managed to give Nate a handshake.

While Nate and Makoto were shaking hands, Makoto felt a flash of her Silver Millennium memory with Nephrite.

_He's got to be Nephrite, right? _Mako wondered.

"Hm, Mako-chan, I'm going to discuss a few things with the professor at the library. Would you mind waiting here?" Ami asked.

"No problem, Ami." Mako answered.

Now that Mako was alone with Nate, she suddenly felt a little nervous.

"So Kino, are you interested in astronomy?" Nate broke the ice.

"Actually I just tag along with my friend. I do think stars and space are fascinating but I haven't really studied them a lot." Makoto shyly admitted.

"I love astronomy. Something about looking at stars makes me feel peaceful and exhilarating at the same time." Nate said.

Makoto must have stared at Nate too long.

"Is something wrong?" Nate asked.

"Hm, it's just that I felt like I may have seen you before." Makoto just decided to go for it and asked him directly.

Nate's thinking and said "I don't think so. This is my first time in Japan. Have you been to the US?"

"No. I must have imagined it then." Makoto responded slowly.

"A lot of people look similar. I'm sure I'm not an exception." Nate said with a smile.

_Oh no. You're unique. At least I know that much. _Mako thought.

Nate's using a telescope pointing out stars after stars to Makoto.

_He's really good at this. Just like Nephrite. _Makoto thought.

—

After they all watched the meteor-shower, Ami and Makoto left the planetarium and headed home.

"Ami-chan, did Nate remind you of someone?" Makoto asked. Even though she kind of figured out from her friend's reaction when they both met Nate, she still wanted to hear it directly from her friend.

"You mean, Nephrite?" Ami said.

Makoto nodded.

"What do you think, Mako-chan?" Ami asked back.

"I think he looks so much like Nephrite, and the way they talk is similar. They are both even passionate about stars and space." Makoto voiced her thoughts.

"Do you think it's …him?" Makoto asked Ami.

"I wasn't going to say anything, but now that you have similar feeling."

"Do you remember Zachary from the chess competition?" Ami asked.

"Yeah, why?" Makoto asked.

"I …have a feeling that he may be Zoicite." Ami confessed.

Makoto eyes got wide open.

"Now that you said it, Ami. I can totally see it. He actually looks like Zoicite." Makoto almost yelled.

"Keep it down, Mako-chan. It's already late." Ami said.

"Oh sorry." Makoto kept her voice down.

"How come you haven't told me about this before?" Makoto asked.

"I just thought that I might have imagined it." Ami said.

"For a second there, I thought I was imagining it too." Makoto admitted.

"Zac …doesn't seem to remember anything, though." Ami sadly told her friend.

"I don't think Nate remembers anything, either." Makoto said.

"So we can't really be sure if they are actually Zoicite and Nephrite. We just have the feeling?" Makoto asked.

Ami nodded.

"Could we please not tell anybody about this, at least until we know more? I don't want to burden anybody with just my… feeling." Ami asked.

_Well, it's just our feeling. But we are Senshi of Mercury and Jupiter, maybe our feelings mean something. _Makoto thought but held her tongue.

"Sure." Makoto responded. As much as she is curious, she agrees with Ami that it may not be in anyone's best interest to bring this up with the group, at least not yet. Why bother others with a baggage from their past lives and past battles when they were just starting to enjoy peace again?

"Just to let you know, Ami. Tomorrow I'm meeting Nate after school." Makoto said.

"What? Why?" Ami exclaimed.

"We were talking and he told me that he didn't know his way around the city. So I told him I could take him around." Makoto said.

"Oh Mako-chan, you're going on a date with a guy who looks like Nephrite. Isn't that difficult?" Ami asked.

"Of course, it's hard when I think that he might be Nephrite. But I'm curious, Ami. I want to find out more about him. I guess I am hoping to see if he's actually Nephrite or not." Makoto said.

"Be careful, Mako-chan. Call me if you need anything." Ami told her friend.

"You are talking to the strongest senshi, Ami. I can take care of myself." Makoto smiled.

"Yes, physically I know you can win any fight. But I mean emotionally, Mako-chan." Ami explained.

"Thank you, Ami. I will probably need you…soon." Makoto admitted.

—

_That Makoto girl was awfully pretty…and nice. _Nate thought while he's walking back to his apartment.

_I have seen many pretty girls, but none has made me kept thinking about them. Why is she different? _Nate pondered.

_I feel so warm and comfortable around her. _This thought surprised Nate himself because he usually does not open up to anyone this quickly. Sure, he's the life of the party once everyone gets to know him. But he generally prefers to keep some distance with strangers.

_I hope she didn't think I was too forward asking her out like that. _Nate regretted his action for a moment, but he knew it in his heart that there was no way he was not going to see her again. This warm feeling he had when he met her was too strong to be ignored.

Nate got to his apartment and set his bag down on the floor. His room was small and a little lifeless, just like any bachelor's apartment. But it doesn't bother him. He's only here for a few weeks. It's no use decorating anyway. However, there was a big poster of the planet Jupiter on his wall next to his desk.

_I think about you again today, Jupiter. I'm going to learn about you as much as I can while I'm here. _Nate thought. He already loves everything about space, but the planet Jupiter has always been the one most fascinating to him. He popped out the book on the planet Jupiter from his bookshelf and started flipping through even though he had done it thousands times before. But he always learned something new reading this, and the impulse he got today was so strong that he just had to read and think about his favorite planet again tonight.

—

The next day at 4 PM, Makoto was waiting in front of the planetarium.

_Oh crap! She got here before I do. Way too go, Nate. Real gentleman. _Nate thought

"Hi Makoto. Sorry I'm a little late." Nate rushed to see Makoto.

"No problem. I just got here." Makoto said.

"There was a lot of work today at the planetarium. Sorry about that." Nate apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Makoto waved with a smile.

_She's so nice. Is she going to kill me with that smile? _Nate thought

"So what do you want me to show you about the city?" Makoto asked.

"Well, I'm not really good at cooking. So if you can show me places to eat around here, that'd be great. For a student's budget, of course." Nate said with a chuckle.

"Sure, what kind of food do you like? There are some Western restaurants here, but I think most of the good ones are Japanese." Makoto explained.

"I like Japanese food. When I was in Cambridge, we love to eat sushi, although it's a little expensive over there." Nate said.

"There are more to Japanese food than sushi, you know." Makoto said with a grin.

"I'm ready to learn." Nate told Makoto. _As long as I get to spend time with you, I will try any food if I have too. _

—

After showing Nate several restaurants, Makoto introduced Nate to the nearby supermarket.

"Here is one of the best supermarkets around here. They have ready-made food sold here as well. So if you don't want to go to a restaurant, you can always stop by here. But you probably don't want to do that too often, though. Home-cooked food is better for your health." Makoto explained.

"Do you cook, Makoto?" Nate asked.

"Hm, it's actually one of my favorite things to do." Makoto said proudly.

_Wow! She's sweet, pretty and she cooks. How fantastic can this girl be? _

"I'd love to try your food sometime." Nate responded.

"I can show you how to make something easy. There are a lot of pre-made ingredients here. Come on, I'll show you." Makoto grabbed his hand and ran into the supermarket.

—

After arriving at Nate's apartment, they sat down at the sofa. Mako happened to see a copy of Astronomy Today on the coffee table.

"Why do you like star and space so much anyway?" Mako asked.

"Well, I want to be an astronaut." Nate answered.

"Wow, an astronaut!" Makoto exclaimed.

"It's just a dream, though. But I'm working hard to make it come true some day." Nate said.

"Isn't being an astronaut a little dangerous? It's like traveling into nothing." Makoto asked.

"Yeah, I suppose it is. But I love that part about being an astronaut. Going to where nobody has gone before. It's exciting.

_You are so brave. Just like the way you used to be. _Mako thought as she recalled her memories of General Nephrite.

"You're strong and intelligent. You'd make a great astronaut." Mako said.

"Why did you think I'm strong and intelligent." Nate asked.

_That's a great question to ask. I don't really know why I said that, either. You are not General Nephrite that I knew. _Makoto thought.

"Oh I just figured that you are studying with Professor Anderson, so you must be smart. And you look strong. So…" Makoto answered.

"I'll take that as a compliment then. Thank you, Makoto." Nate said with a smile.

"I'll get dinner ready." Mako tried to change the subject.

"I'll help you." Nate said while following Makoto to the kitchen.

—

"Oh my god, Makoto, this is delicious." Nate complimented her.

"It's just a simple curry and rice. It's no big deal." Makoto blushed.

"I always love your cooking. You are the best!" Nate said.

They both looked at each other at the same time.

_Why did he say that? Does he remember me? _Mako thought.

"I'm sorry I don't know why I said that. This is the first time I've tried your food." Nate wondered.

"Sorry maybe I studied too hard. My brain stopped working. Haha." Nate shrugged off.

_Is he starting to remember me? Even a little? _Makoto wondered.

Makoto sat down next to him and started eating.

"So Nate, what do you like most about space?" Makoto changed the subject.

"I like the stillness and mysteries of it. I like studying planets than stars, especially in our solar system. We still have a lot of learn about them." Nate explained.

"Out of all the planets in our solar system, I think Jupiter is the most fascinating." Nate said.

That line made Makoto stopped eating.

"You…like Jupiter?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah, I think it's the most interesting planet. I even have a poster, see?" Nate answered while pointing to the poster next to his desk.

_Can't believe I didn't see that when we walked in. _Makoto wondered.

"Why?" Makoto asked.

"Well, Jupiter is considered the biggest planet in our solar system, but it largely comprises of gas. So it's difficult to understand what's going on under that cloud of gas." Nate explained.

"I thought that what makes Jupiter so boring. It's big, but there's nothing there, unlike Venus or Mars that people find more interesting." Makoto said with a sad look.

"I disagree, Makoto. I think the fact that Jupiter is the largest planet makes it looks like the strongest, but in reality, Jupiter is gentler than its appearance." Nate explained.

"So you're really like Jupiter, huh?" Makoto asked timidly.

"I can't really explain it either, but I am drawn to Jupiter for some reason." Nate said.

_You said the same thing back in Silver Millennium. _Makoto thought.

It's becoming so difficult for Makoto to look at Nate now.

_You are too much like Nephrite, but you don't remember me. _Makoto had tears welling up. She felt rejected.

"It's getting late. I should get going." Makoto put the plate down and tried to grab her school bag.

"I'll walk you home." Nate offered.

"No, don't worry about it. I live not too far from here." Makoto hurriedly walked to the door.

"Oh ok. This is my number here in Japan. Hope we can meet again some time." Nate said as he quickly scribbled down his phone number on a small piece of paper.

Makoto received a note from Nate and nodded.

"Good night." Makoto said.

"Good night." Nate answered.

Once the door was closed, Makoto closed her eyes and tears coming down her cheeks.

_I had no idea it would hurt this much. He's as nice as he used to be, but he doesn't know who I am. _Makoto wiped off her tears and started walking home.

She opened her fist and looked at the note Nate just gave her. She smiled.

The note said "Call me. 111-233-432. Nate, Jupiter lover."


	5. Conflict

Nate was looking out the window, staring into the night's sky. Dark grey clouds gathered in the sky, while the thunder's roaring away in the distance.

_The thunder's coming again. _Nate thought.

He loves the clear sky like any stargazer would, of course, but thunder and rain were surprisingly comforting for him. He thought about the dream he had had so many times before.

—

He was riding a horse through the lush forest in drizzling rain. He arrived at a small cottage deep in the forest, got off the horse, and greeted a beautiful tall girl in front of the cottage.

He couldn't see the girl's face clearly, but he could see that she wore a brown wavy pony tail.

"Good to have you back." The girl said as she took off his rain coat. "You look so handsome in the rain." She added.

"I've missed you, my lady." He said while embraced her.

"You must be starving riding a long way here. Come on in. I've made you dinner." the girl said.

"Your cooking is the best. But just so you know, I don't love you because you are a good cook. I love you because you care about me enough to prepare all these food for me." Nate said.

"It's the thought that counts. But lucky me, my lady also excels at cooking." Nate said and smiled at her.

"Stop flattering me. Let's go inside and make the best of our time together." the girl took his hand and led him inside the cottage.

—-

"Who are you?" Nate mumbled to himself.

The moment Nate met Makoto at the planetarium, he immediately thought about the girl in his dream. He had assumed that it was just one of those silly fantasies people have in their youths. He was not the type of guy who would be dreaming away about the girl that doesn't exist. But he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the vision in his dream manifesting right before his eyes. Makoto reminded him so much of the girl in his dream, her body, her voice, her manner, her smile.

_Maybe this is not a coincidence after all? _Nate wondered.

—

Makoto was back at her apartment. She dropped her bad and then watered her many many plants.

_Why does it hurt so much to see him again? Isn't it good that he doesn't remember? This is our chance to start anew. _Makoto wondered.

The memories of their time in the Silver Millennium came rushing back to her.

—

In the cottage deep in a forest on earth, Nephrite was meeting Jupiter. It was a usual night. They had been secretly meeting at this place whenever they could. But this was a much awaited meeting for them both.

"I'm so glad to see you again." Nephrite said as he embraced Jupiter.

"I'm more surprised that you still wanted to see me." Jupiter said.

"I know things between earth and the moon are really strained lately. A large group of Terrans has turned against Endymion, accusing him of treason. It's nonsense, of course, but it pains me to see the divide between our own people." Nephrite explained.

"We haven't been able to see each other in so long. I thought something terrible happened. I was so worried, Nephrite." Jupiter said.

"To be honest, I didn't tell the other shitennou that I'm still seeing you. Kunzite started to disapprove of us associating with the Moon Kingdom." Nephrite confessed.

Jupiter looked away with worry.

"What are you worrying about, my lady?" Nephrite asked.

"I am afraid what will happen if people know we are together. I can't risk the safety of everyone on the moon, for my personal reason." Jupiter said.

"Look, Jupiter. You are the strongest senshi. If your princess is trying to make things work with my prince, I don't see why we can't try to make it work as well." Nephrite said to Jupiter with a smile.

"It's not that simple, Nephrite. I have a duty. You have a duty. We are not in any position to do something just for ourselves." Jupiter said.

"I have dedicated my whole life to the Middle Kingdom. The only thing I want is to have the love of my life beside me. I'm sure Endymion will understand that." Nephrite said.

"You sound so confident. I love that about you, General." Jupiter said with a smile.

"But I don't know what I should do anymore, Nephrite. I'm a girl in love, but I'm also the guardian of the Princess and the Moon Kingdom." Jupiter said.

"You are Jupiter, the love of my life." Nephrite said while getting down on one knee and kissed her left hand and said "Jupiter, I have waited for you all my life and I'm not going to let anything ruin our love. Sailor Jupiter, will you do me the honor of being my bride?" Nephrite asked with a gleam of happiness.

Jupiter dropped her jaw. She didn't expect their relationship to come this far. With all the problems between earth and the moon, their love seems forbidden. "Nephrite, are you sure?" Jupiter asked.

"More than anything in the world…and the moon." Nephrite said with smile.

Jupiter smiled and said "Yes".

They embraced each other.

"I know the situation between earth and the moon worries you. But trust me, Jupiter. I will find a way for us to be together. I promise you." Nephrite said while loosened up his embrace and looked at Jupiter.

"We will make it work." Nephrite said.

"Yes, we will make it work." Jupiter responded.

—

Sailor Jupiter hasn't heard from Nephrite since then.

A few weeks later.

Jupiter was practicing martial arts in the training field when she heard Venus yelled "Jupiter come quick. The Terrans are attacking us."

Jupiter couldn't believe what she heard, but the senshi leader would never joke at a time like this. She ran after Venus to the front of the palace.

There, she saw the sight she would never have expected in a million years. There, stood in front of the palace were Nephrite holding his sword and shield, standing next to Kunzite.

There was no time for explanation. Everything was in slow motion. She saw Kunzite yelled something, and then Terran warriors suddenly started to run into the palace. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Nephrite killing Lunar guards left and right.

_This is not happening. _Jupiter thought.

"Nephrite, what are you doing?" Jupiter yelled.

Nephrite looked at her smugly. "Protecting my home from the evil of the Moon Kingdom." He said while swinging his sword at her. She moved away swiftly.

This isn't the man she knew. Nephrite would never kill any Lunarians. He promised her that. She looked into his eyes and didn't see the familiar gentle spark she's always seen. Instead she saw a terrifying look and chilled her to her bones.

_Still, I can't fight with you. I have to get you back to your senses. Explain it to me. _Jupiter thought while escaping his attacks.

Suddenly she saw Nephrite aiming his sword at Mercury, who was standing still with Zoicite's body in her hands. Mercury saw Nephrite just before his sword hit her, but it was too late. The sword hit Mercury's body and she fell to the ground.

Jupiter was shocked at the sight.

_This is it. You are not Nephrite I knew. _

The Terran army was raiding into the Palace with Nephrite making a way for the army. She decided to release her strongest attack to him, the man she used to love and was going to marry.

It was not difficult to kill Nephrite. She knew his greatest weakness. What was more difficult was the decision to do so but her duty was more important than love. She at least knew that much. Nephrite had fallen to the ground. He let go of the sword in his right hand and close his eyes. She never managed to see his familiar gleam of love that she's so used to. Tears were brimming in her eyes, but she didn't have time for grief. The Palace was in danger. Serenity was in danger. Sailor Jupiter went back to the battle to help her fellow senshi.

—

"I killed him, with my own hands" Makoto whispered to herself. Tears filled her eyes. All these bitter and sweet memories coming back to her like they just happened yesterday.


	6. Decision

Makoto and Ami were sitting at their usual table at the Crown Parlor.

"You don't seem well, Mako-chan. Are you ok?" Ami asked.

"Can I ask you something, Ami-chan? Do you think we should just forget about what happened in the past?" Mako asked.

Ami paused, and then said "Are you thinking about the shitennou?"

Mako gave a small nod. Her eyes were gazing into the space.

"I am totally convinced that Nate is Nephrite. He still has some lingering memories about us that he doesn't even realize. But when I am with him, all I see are memories from the past life and when we fought with him." Mako explained.

"Do you wish that he could remember everything?" Ami asked.

"No, I actually wished that I didn't remember anything. It would have been much easier to start again as normal teenagers, right?" Mako asked.

"That may be so, but I'm actually glad to have my memories." Ami answered.

"Really? Why?" Mako asked.

"I'm glad to see Zoicite again. I'm glad to see that he's living a normal life. Despite everything that happened, I still care for him and think he deserves to have a chance at normal life. If I didn't have all those memories, I wouldn't have wanted to wish him well, Mako-chan." Ami answered.

"But don't you want to be with him again?" Mako asked.

"I don't know. As much as I would love to get to know him again, we are living in different worlds anyway. It's not like I will ever see him again. He lives in Germany. I live here. Maybe this is how things are supposed to be. Just to meet one more time and let it go." Ami explained

"But don't you want to start again with him?" Mako asked.

"Is that what you want to do, Mako-chan?" Ami asked her back.

Mako-chan sighed. "I was thinking that for a moment, but after I spent the evening with him, it was too difficult to remember everything."

"Are you going to see him again?" Ami asked.

"I don't know, Ami. He's staying here for a few weeks. I'll think about it." Mako answered.

"Mako-chan, we don't have to live in the past. Those memories are wonderful, but that doesn't mean we have to be bound by them now." Ami said and patted Mako's shoulder.

Mako looked at Ami. "You are so strong, Ami-chan."

Usagi, Rei and Minako joined Mako and Ami at the table.

"Why are you looking so serious, Ami-chan, Mako-chan? What are you talking about?" Usagi asked as she sat down.

"And Mako-chan, where were you yesterday? I thought we were going to study together at the shrine." Rei asked.

"Actually she wanted to know because we missed your study snacks yesterday, right Rei?" Minako looked at Rei.

"So that's why you missed me?" Mako said with a smile.

"Not just that, we missed you too. Even though your food is the best, we want you more than your food, Mako-chan." Rei answered.

"So next time, I don't have to bring any snack then?" Mako asked.

"Ahh, no, Mako-chan." Usagi said.

"If you don't bring any food, Usagi will skip the study sessions, for sure." Minako added.

"You too, Minako-chan. It's not like you are a better student than I am." Usagi said.

"Ok, stop you two." Rei said.

"But where were you yesterday, Mako-chan?" Rei asked when she realized her friend hasn't answered.

"I was helping out an exchange student from the U.S." Mako answered.

"A guy or a girl?" Minako asked curiously.

"It doesn't matter. I'm just showing him around like where to eat, shopping and things like that." Mako asked, not realizing that she accidentally answered her friend's question.

"So it's a guy. Were you on a date, Mako-chan? Tell us." Usagi and asked and poked her elbow and Mako.

"It's not a date, Usagi. He just moved here and didn't know his way around. So I showed him good restaurants and the supermarket. And I showed him how to make a curry rice at his place, that's it." Mako answered.

"You went to his place on the first date. That's kind of bold, Mako-chan." Minako said.

_Of course, it would seem that way. But if you see him, you'll understand. _Mako thought.

"Let's not talk about this, should plan our study for the upcoming exams" Ami changed the subject.

"I forget to tell you, Ami-chan. It was so cool to see you at the chess tournament." Usagi said.

"Speaking of which, did you feel something strange about the guy you were playing against?" Rei asked.

Ami looked a bit surprised and asked Rei "What do you mean, Rei-chan?"

"I sensed some weird energy coming from him." Rei answered.

"Weird energy, like the enemy?" Minako asked.

"No, not like the enemy. I can't really tell. It's just strange, that's all. I don't know what it is about. I just sensed something." Rei answered.

Ami and Mako looked at each other and nodded. This is a good time to let her fellow senshi know what's going on.

"Mako-chan and I have something to tell you." Ami said.

Usagi, Rei and Minako were listening intently. What Ami-chan said is usually important anyway.

"We think we have seen Zoicite and Nephrite." Ami said.

"What!?" The three girls yelled at the same time.

"What do you mean you think you've seen Zoicite and Nephrite?" Minako's eyes widened with surprise.

"Well, I sensed that Sato-sang, the guy I played chess with was Zoicite." Ami explained.

"And I felt that the guy I went out with yesterday was Nephrite." Mako added.

"How come you just told us now?" Usagi complained.

"We didn't want to say anything until we were sure." Ami said.

"And are you sure now that those guys are the shitennou?" Rei asked.

"Actually I have no proof, but I have a very strong feeling that he is Zoicite." Ami explained.

It's rare to see Ami relying on her feeling instead of evidence. So the girls went silent for a moment.

"At first, I just thought he might just look like Nephrite, but after spending some time with him, I'm pretty sure he's Nephrite." Mako explained.

"Did they apologize for what happened?" Minako asked.

"They didn't remember anything, not the past life, not the dark kingdom, nothing." Mako said.

"Then why are you so sure that they are the shitennou?" Rei asked.

"There were these…moments that reminded me of…what happened in the Silver Millennium" Mako answered.

Ami and Mako were deep in their thoughts.

"Are you ok, Ami-chan, Mako-chan?" Usagi asked with concern.

"I'm ok, Usagi-chan" Ami answered.

"Mako-chan?" Usagi asked.

"I think so, Usagi. It's just hard to be reminded of what happened in the past. That's all." Mako said with a sad look.

"Should we do something about this? Should we tell Mamoru?" Minako asked.

"I actually think that we should leave them alone for now. Zac is from Germany and Nate is from the U.S. Maybe we are not going to see them again. I don't want to bring back their memories unnecessarily" Ami said.

Minako realized that Mako looked distracted.

"Are you ok with that, Mako-chan?" Minako asked.

"I don't know, Minako. I really don't know." Mako answered slowly.

"I'm sure this is difficult for you, Ami-chan, Mako-chan. Why don't we just let you guys think about it for a while? This isn't a crisis. It's not like we have to do anything right now. But feel free to tell us if anything happens, ok? We are here for you." Rei said and winked at Ami and Makoto.

"Thank you everyone." Mako said and smiled to everyone.

Mako looked at Ami as she thought about what to do next.

_I wish I could let him go like you, Ami. But I don't think I can._ Mako thought.


	7. Bond

Minako and Rei left Ami, Mako, and Usagi. They were walking along the street with no specific destination in mind.

"Can you believe Ami-chan and Mako-chan met Zoicite and Nephrite again?" Minako asked Rei.

"Yes. It's surprising." Rei said.

"I wondered if this means we are going to meet Kunzite and Jadeite soon." Minako said.

"You want to meet him, don't you, Minako-chan?" Rei asked.

"Of course. Don't you want to meet Jadeite again?" Minako asked.

"No. I don't want to see him ever again." Rei answered.

"Why did you say that? He was the love of your life." Minako asked.

"Exactly. Was, Minako, he was. Not anymore." Rei answered.

"I think it's going to be difficult to cut the ties with someone you a had strong bond with from the past life. Look at Usagi and Mamoru. There's no keeping them apart." Minako said.

"But that's them, right? I don't believe we have to make the same mistakes again. He was gullible and betrayed me. Yes we were lovers in the past lives, but we were also enemies." Rei said.

"But if you want to think that all the love in your past life doesn't count, Rei-chan, it does mean that all the fighting with him doesn't count as well. You can't just ignore all the good times and remember only the bad times." Minako said.

Rei knew that her friend was right, but still she couldn't possibly forget Jadeite. She wasn't the kind of girl who falls in love easily, but she did for him. And then he just betrayed and crushed her feelings. No, he was dead to her, literally or figuratively. She didn't care.

However, Rei knew all too well that her friend believed differently. Minako was madly in love with Kunzite. She would be willing to forgive him and start anew. That's what the Goddess of love does, she guessed. Minako was always full of love, and Rei admired her friend for that. But in this regard, she thought her friend was letting the shitennou off too easy. Nobody deserves a second chance after committing the crimes like what the shitennou did.

"So I assume you won't get involved with Jadeite if you see him again?" Minako asked.

Rei stared into space and was lost in her thinking.

"Even if he doesn't remember anything?" Minako asked.

"I think he would know what he did, Minako." Rei said.

"But you heard Ami-chan and Mako-chan, Zoicite and Nephrite don't remember anything about the past." Minako said.

"They may not remember everything, but it will be in their souls. They would feel it. They would feel the burden and the guilt of all they had done." Rei said.

Rei was not ready to forgive. The pain Jadeite caused cut her too deep. There's no way she would forgive him. Never.

—

Makoto was lying in bed, tossing and turning. It was 11.30 PM. She has gotten to bed since 9 PM. She didn't want to think about Nephrite, but unfortunately, her heart didn't agree with her decision. The memories of their time together kept flooding back with no sign of stopping. Makoto finally gave up on trying to sleep. She got up and made a pot of rose tea. And then she sat down at the Japanese coffee table in her apartment looking at Nate's handwriting.

_Call me. 111-233-432. Nate, Jupiter lover._

That's it. She couldn't take it anymore. She had to talk to him. She picked up her cellphone and dialed his number.

"Hello?" Nate picked up.

"Hi. It's Makoto. I'm sorry I called so late." Makoto said apologetically.

"That's alright. I'm still up waiting for the sky to clear." Nate said.

"You are watching the stars?" Makoto asked.

"Well, I'm trying to. The sky was not so kind tonight, though. I may have to try again tomorrow." Nate said.

"What's up, Makoto?" Nate asked.

"Um I…I don't really know. I'm sorry I called you so suddenly." Makoto said.

"No, it's great. I'm really glad you called." Nate said with a smile.

"Have you gotten used to your life in Tokyo?" Makoto tried to come up with some small talk.

"I'm getting used to it. Thanks to you showing me around the other day." Nate said.

"Good, I'm glad I was helpful." Makoto said.

"Listen, Makoto. Would you like to go out sometime?" Nate asked reluctantly.

Makoto paused for a moment and said "That'd be nice."

"Is this your cellphone number you're using?" Nate asked.

"Yes, it is." Makoto answered.

"Are you free this Saturday?" Nate asked.

"I think so." Makoto said.

"My friends and I are going to the theme park this Saturday. Do you want to come? You can bring your friends. We'll have a good day." Nate said.

_So this isn't a date, huh? _Makoto felt a little disappointed, but as she thought about how she almost couldn't hold back her tears while she was at Nate's, she realized that having friends with her may not be such a bad idea after all.

"Sure, I'll bring some friends. We'll see you then." Makoto answered.

"Great! I'll meet you in front of the park at 10 o'clock. I'm looking forward to seeing you again, Makoto." Nate said.

"Me, too. Um, I'll see you then." Makoto said and hang up the phone.

Makoto felt a mixed array of emotion. On one hand, she was so happy she was going to see Nate again. On the other hand, she didn't really know how she's going to act in front of him. She still couldn't decide on what to do. But at least now she could go to sleep knowing that she would see him again in a few days.

—

Around 9.50 AM at the front of the theme park.

"Are you sure you want us on your date, Mako-chan?" Ami asked.

"It's not a date, Ami. We are meeting his friends too, remember? Plus, I kind of want you here to…" Makoto paused.

"To help you decide what to do?" Rei chimed in.

"Something like that" Makoto said reluctantly.

"Do you know if his friends are handsome?" Minako tried to change the subject.

"Is that why you agree to tag along, Minako? For some cute guys?" Rei asked.

"Well, yeah, but also to support Mako-chan." Minako said while putting her arms around Makoto's.

"I'm surprised you're free today, Ami. I'd think you have cram school on Saturdays." Rei asked.

"Normally, I do, but…" Ami paused.

"I asked her to come with us. Ami already met Nate once, so I think it'd be good if she's here too." Makoto answered.

"So what's the plan here? Are we going to just have fun as normal girls or are we, as senshi, checking Nephrite out to see how he really is?" Minako asked.

"Honestly, I don't have a plan, Minako-chan. I'm so nervous already. Just help me out, will you?" Makoto said.

"I think we should just meet him and see how it goes." Ami said.

"Oh here they come" Makoto waved to Nate and his friends.

Nate waved back and walked over to Makoto.

Ami was surprised to see that Nate's friend was Zac.

"Hi everyone, I'm Nathan Becker, but you can call me Nate. And this is my friend." Nate said.

"Hi I'm Sato Zachery." Zac greeted the girl.

"Nice to see you again, Ami." Zac looked at Ami.

"You two know each other." Nate asked.

"Yeah, we played chess together in a tournament I told you about." Zac said to Nate.

"I thought you were back in Germany." Ami-chan asked Zac.

"I'm going home next week. Now I'm just enjoying my time in Tokyo." Zac answered.

"Ahm, don't forget about us." Minako said.

"I'm Aino Minako and this is Hino Rei." Minako introduced herself and Rei.

"Nice to meet all of you." Zac and Nate said.

"How did you two know each other anyway?" Rei asked pointing to Nate and Zac.

"We actually stayed in the same apartment. I know Zac's only here for a week, but we immediately hit it off." Nate explained.

"Yeah, the moment we walked past each other on the hallway we knew we would be great friends." Zac said.

"Don't make it sound so cheesy, Zac." Nate stopped his friend.

"But it's true though. We just feel like we've been friends for a long time. It's kind of weird, but it's true." Zac said.

_That's really not a surprise if you knew who you two were. _Ami thought to herself.

"So shall we go?" Minako suggested.

"Actually I have one more friend coming. I guess he's a bit late." Nate said.

"A guy that keeps girls waiting is not a gentleman." Rei said.

"Please forgive him. He had a taekwondo practice at school this morning. He should be here any minute now though." Nate said.

"Is he cute?" Minako asked Nate.

"Stop, Minako-chan!" Rei yelled at her friend.

"Haha that's alright. He's pretty nice, actually. He's a middle school student at a private school. He lives in our building too." Nate said.

"And here he is." Nate waved to his friend who's walking over.

Rei sensed a strong feeling as Nate's friend was approaching.

As he walked closer and closer, Rei thought to herself. _Jadeite._

"No way." Rei exclaimed and covered her mouth.


	8. Venus's Plan

"Junichi, this way!" Nate said.

"Hi! I'm Yamada Junichi. Nice to meet you." Junichi greeted the girls.

"It's already late. We should hurry. Junichi, this is Makoto, Ami, Rei and Minako." Nate introduced the girls. But Junichi's eyes were already fixed on one girl.

Rei and Junichi looked at each other.

_She's so captivating. _Junichi felt his heart beating faster.

Rei caught his eyes and avoided his gaze. "Let's go." she said to everyone.

Junichi snapped out of his trance and followed the group to the park entrance, but his eyes were stilling lingering on Rei.

—

"Rei-chan, did you feel that Junichi is?" Minako whispered to Rei.

"Yes, I did." Rei said coldly.

"Aren't you gonna talk to him?" Minako asked quietly.

"I told you I don't want to see him again." Rei said.

"Fine. Then you don't mind if I talk to him, right?" Minako asked.

"What? Why do you want to talk to him?" Rei asked angrily.

"Mako-chan is with Nate and Ami-chan's with Zac. It's so boring walking alone." Minako explained.

"Do whatever you want." Rei said coldly.

Rei didn't understand how the senshi's leader can act so carefree when they just met three of the shitennou.

_You should never let your guard down, Venus. _Rei thought as right now she's in the vigilant mode. Three shitennou are here. Something bad's bound to happen sooner or later. Rei thought what Minako should be doing now is keeping an eye out for Kunzite. But then again, Rei figured that Minako probably always kept an eye out for Kunzite anyway.

"Hi Junichi. I'm Minako. Do you want to ride the rollercoaster together?" Minako asked Junichi.

"Hmm sure." Junichi was not used to a girl being so forward and he couldn't keep his eyes off Rei. But it seemed that Rei was unapproachable at the moment. Maybe it was best to talk to her friend first.

"I'm going to wait here. You guys go ahead." Rei said with a bored look.

"You don't want to ride the rollercoaster, Rei-chan?" Ami asked.

"No, I don't feel all that well. I think I shouldn't ride the rollercoaster. Don't worry. I'll get some ice-cream while waiting for you guys." Rei said and pointed at the ice-cream stand nearby.

"Well then, let's go. See you later, Rei-chan." Minako said while taking Juichi's hand and led him to the rollercoaster's waiting line.

"Is your friend ok?" Junichi asked Minako.

"She's fine. She just doesn't like this scary ride. But she likes to act tough, that's all." Minako said.

Junichi nodded, looking at Rei as she walked to the bench near the ice-cream stand.

_You just can't keep an eye off of her, can you Jadeite? This is just like the old days. _Minako thought.

_Well, if they are going to act like how they were before, then I know how to make things interesting. _Minako's coming up with a plan.

—

"Surprised to see you here, Ami. I have no idea that you know Nate as well." Zac said.

"I just met Nate the other day at the planetarium. I know the professor he's working with." Ami explained.

"I'm really glad I get to spend more time with you before I go back to Germany." Zac said.

Ami's getting blushed. _Man, he has to go and say something like that._ _I'm going to die of embarrassment. Pull yourself together, Ami! Today is for Mako-chan. It's a weird coincidence that Zac is here too. But he will go home in a few days. This may be the last chance that we see each other. Might as well enjoy it. _

"Ami?" Zac asked when he saw Ami lost in her thoughts.

"Oh sorry." Ami snapped back to the present.

"Do you come to the theme parks often?" Zac asked.

"I came here more often when I was younger, but I don't really have time since I started middle school. I believe this is the first time for me this year." Ami said.

"Wow. I don't know how you live so close to the theme park and not come here more often." Zac said.

"I am usually busy with cram schools. I don't have that much free time." Ami said.

"I heard that you are already the number one in your school. Why do you have to study so hard?" Zac asked.

"But I get to be number one because I study hard." Ami said.

"I like learning, too, Ami. But I like to do it by experiencing things rather than just listening to lectures or reading books." Zac said.

"What do you like to do in your free time then?" Ami asked.

"Well, I usually travel. I like to travel a lot. Be with my own thoughts and write some of them down. I also like to go to the museums and theaters." Zac said.

"That sounds like fun." Ami said with a smile.

"If you go to Europe, I can totally show you around. You'll love it. There's so much history. It's amazing to just travel across the continent and learn about different cultures and people." Zac said.

"Maybe one day I'll go." Ami smiled.

"Please keep in touch. This is my contact information. I'd love to hear from you sometime." Zac said while scribbling his e-mail and address on a paper.

_You are making it too difficult to let you go, Zoicite. I love your adventurous and exploring spirit. That's how I felt in love with you in the first place. _Ami thought as she recalled how General Zoicite used to show her around the different communes of the Middle Kingdom. It was so much joy for her to learn about people on earth, their cultures, and the way they lived. Back then, most Lunarians believed earth was a savage place with primitive civilization, but Zoicite had proved them wrong time and time again.

_No, Ami, No. He doesn't remember any of that. I have to treat him as Zac, not Zoicite. _Ami reminded herself.

_But he looks so much like his own self. Even his personality and preferences are the same. How can I treat him differently than Zoicite? _Ami thought.

_Just enjoy it, Ami. This is the one chance to see him again, to make sure that he lives a normal life. Stop all the reminiscing. _Ami forced herself.

"Don't look so serious, Ami. We're at the theme park." Zac said.

"You're right. Let's have fun and enjoy today." Ami smiled.

—

In the afternoon, while Rei, Minako and Junichi were relaxing on the bench near the lake, Nate and Mako were in a rowing boat with Zac and Ami in a separate boat not far behind.

"Do you want to switch?" Mako asked.

"No I'm doing ok." Nate answered while kept rowing.

"Are you sure? I'm not like other girls. I can row pretty well. We can switch if you are tired." Mako said with a smile.

Nate smiled. He knew that Makoto was not a typical girl. She looked strong and independent, but there was no way he would let this chance to show her his chivalry go to waste.

"So, Makoto, are you having a good time?" Nate asked.

"Yes, it was very nice. Thank you for inviting me and my friends." Mako said.

"I'm glad I invited you. Coming here with two other guys would have been weird." Nate chuckled.

"You just met Zac and Junichi, but you guys seem like old friends." Mako asked.

"Yeah, it's so strange. I just met both of them the other day but it feels like we've known one another for a long time." Nate said.

"How so?" Mako asked further.

"I don't know how to describe it. It was the same feeling I had when I met you, actually." Nate said.

"Oh, when you met me?" Mako asked shyly.

"Yeah, when I met you, I had this feeling like I have known you before. And not just knew you, but…." Nate stopped.

"But?" Mako asked.

"Nothing. It's just that I feel so comfortable with you. Same with Zac and Junichi." Nate said.

_He has the feeling about me and the other shitennou. But will he eventually remember everything? Should I even try to help him remember? _Mako pondered.

"I will run the risk of coming off a little cheesy here, but I just feel like I belong here with you." Nate said and looked into Mako's eyes.

Mako's blushed. She tried to look the other way.

"I don't know if I should ask you out because I'm only here for a few weeks. But if you are ok with that, would you mind going out with me?" Nate asked hesitantly.

_He's seriously asking me out? Oh my God! What do I do? _

Mako sighed and looked at Nate.

"I'm sorry I asked. I knew I shouldn't have. I won't be staying long, so you probably don't want to get involved with me." Nate said disappointedly.

"It's not like I don't want to go out with you. I'm just afraid that you will break my heart in a couple of weeks when you have to leave." Mako said.

"I understand." Nate nodded.

"But…" Mako said while Nate was listening intently.

"I believe we should live in the moment. I'd like to live my life with no regrets. Sure, there may be heartaches and pains, but I would like to live my life to the fullest and experience everything life has to offer." Mako said.

_I don't know if I can handle being with him after everything that happened, but I still want to be with him no matter what. Even if he's leaving in a couple of weeks, he does feel something about me. I want to enjoy this time together._

"So you'll go out with me?" Nate asked.

"I'd love that." Mako said. Nate smiled with excitement.

—

Rei, Minako and Junichi were sitting near the lake watching two couples having a good time in their own little worlds. Minako saw Junichi glancing at Rei periodically and get annoyed. She hated it when people have feelings for each other, but try to act cool and distant. The world is full of love, people! As the Goddess of love, nothing annoys her more than watching people not falling in love when they were both obviously wanted to.

_Now it's time for something fun. _Minako thought.

"It's boring sitting here. Let's go get our rolling boat, Junichi." Minako said while taking his hand.

"But we shouldn't leave Rei alone." Junichi gave an excuse.

"You two go ahead. I'm ok here. I don't really like water anyway. It's a nice day. You two should go have fun." Rei said nonchalantly.

"See, Rei said it's ok. Let's go , Junichi." Minako led his hand to get him out of the bench. It was difficult for anyone to resist Minako. So Junichi reluctantly decided to follow her.

"We'll see you later, Rei-chan." Minako walked with her arm around Junichi's arm. and winked at Rei.

_For heaven's sake, what's she trying to do now? Not that I care anyway. _Rei thought.

Minako and Junichi got in a boat and rowed into the middle of the lake.

"Junichi, do you like Rei-chan?" Minako said out of the blue.

"What?" Junichi said.

"Come on, you've been staring at Rei-chan since you got here." Minako asked.

"No, no. I just…." Junichi tried to come up with words while Minako looked at him as if she knew what he had in mind.

Junichi sighed. "It's that obvious?"

"Yeah, you are not good at subtlety, are you?" Minako said.

"I don't know, but I thought I had seen her somewhere before." Junichi said.

_Does he remember Mars? _Minako wondered.

"Where did you think you have seen her?" Minako asked.

"I can't really pinpoint where, but I just had the feeling like I've known her for a long time. It's weird, right?" Junichi said.

_No, it's not weird considering what you guys have been through together. _

"Anyway, lately something like this happened to me a few times already." Junichi said.

"A few times?" Minako asked.

"Well, when I met Nate and Zac, I had the same feeling. That's why we get along so well. I feel like they are my brothers. Well, I do have an older brother living in Kyushu, but being with Nate and Zac just feels the same as being with my brother." Junichi said.

"Are you close with your brother?" Minako asked.

"Yes, we're very close. And for some reason, I felt that Nate and Zac are like my brothers too." Junichi said.

Minako was deep in her thought.

"Sorry for saying something so personal. I just feel like I can tell you anything." Junichi smiled.

"Well people are usually comfortable around me." Minako said.

"Is that your superpower?" Junichi asked.

"Maybe." Minako said with a grin.

"Listen Junichi, I don't want to break this to you, but Rei is not interested in relationships. So don't get your hopes up." Minako said.

"I wasn't planning to start a relationship with her." Junichi said.

"Well, I just thought you should know." Minako said.

"But may I ask why? Does she have a boyfriend?" Junichi asked.

_You are exactly the same, Jadeite. Want what you can't have. This is gonna fun. _Minako thought as she remembered how in their past lives, she was the one getting Mars and Jadeite together. He was fascinated by her mysteriousness. She pushed him away at first like she did with all other guys, but she finally gave in to his honest affection and relentless pursuit.

"No, she doesn't have a boyfriend, but she keeps her distance from guys." Minako explained.

"Do you know why?" Junichi asked curiously.

"I don't know. Maybe she doesn't want to get hurt?" Minako said and shrugged.

_You two will be together in no time. I should bet Rei on this. She'll say she doesn't want anything to do with him, but he will win her heart eventually._ Minako thought up her scheme to help her friend connect with the lover from the past.

—

After everyone getting off the boat, they were all discussing about where to go for dinner.

"I'm starving. Let's go get dinner." Minako suggested.

"Sure, do you know any great place around here?" Nate asked.

"How about we go to the ramen place over there? Won't that be nice, Junichi?" Minako said while being flirty with Junichi.

Rei looked annoyed but she didn't say anything.

_I don't care about him, but do you have to flirt with him, Minako-chan? Why don't you stop it already! _Upsetting thoughts came up in Rei's mind.

"That sounds great. Let's go everyone." Mako said while walking towards the ramen shop.

Everyone was walking towards the shop except for Rei.

"Rei-chan? Are you coming?" Ami asked.

Rei looked at Minako and Junichi. "I'll just pass on the dinner. I should get back to the shrine."

"Won't you stay with us, Hino?" Junichi asked and looked at Rei.

_You always look at me like that honest, adorable eyes of yours. Not this time, Jadeite. I won't fall for that again._ Rei thought.

"No, I'm just gonna go. Bye everyone." Rei said and waved good bye. She started to walk away from the group.

"Is Rei-chan ok? She didn't seem so happy today." Makoto asked.

"She's just upset that she didn't have a date." Minako said playfully, still clinging to Junichi's arm.

"I'll make sure she's ok." Junichi let go of Minako and rushed to Rei.

"What was all that about, Minako-chan?" Makoto asked.

"The Goddess of love's at work, Mako-chan." Minako said and smiled at Makoto.

—

"Hino. Did I do something to upset you?" Junichi asked.

"I…I'm not used to being around girls. If I did something to make you upset, I apologize. I'm so sorry, but please don't walk away." Junichi continued

Rei stopped without looking back.

"You didn't do anything wrong." Rei answered.

"But it seems like you are angry with me." Junichi said.

Rei gave a big sighed with her back still facing him.

"I guess I'm angry with myself." Rei said.

_I'm angry that I can't bring myself to hate you. _Rei thought.

Junichi walked to face Rei.

"Why are you angry with yourself?" Junichi asked.

Rei looked at him earnestly in the eyes. He looks so innocent and kind.

"That's….none of your business." Rei said and walked away.

"Rei, I just met you, but I think you are wonderful. You're attractive, intelligent and you care about your friends. Please don't be mad at yourself." Junichi told Rei.

Rei facing back to Junichi and said "You don't even know me. How could you said something like that?" Rei asked.

"I don't know, Rei, but I feel like I've known you before. And even if that was just a feeling I have, based on today, I can see that you are a nice person." Junichi said.

_How can you said something so nice? Don't you remember anything you did? _Rei thought.

Rei looked into his eyes and realized that Junichi didn't have any glimpse of regret or guilt. He didn't have the evil look like he did when he was with Beryl either. So this is why Ami and Mako-chan can't be angry with the other shitennou. Because they don't remember anything.

"Thank you for think so highly of me, but I think we shouldn't see each other anymore. Just consider today never happened." Rei said and walked away.

"Never happened, huh? How can I possibly do that?" Junichi said to himself.


	9. Duty

"Zoicite, you are finally back. Did you send your ice princess home?" Nephrite asked with amuse.

"I walked her to the gate, and she's not my ice princess." Zoicite yelled.

"To be fair, Zoicite acts like that with every girl." Kunizite chimed in.

"But I haven't seen him this smitten over someone before." Nephrite said.

"It's nothing. We are just colleagues. We are here to do our jobs. That's all."

"So you guys are just friends?" Jadite asked.

"Of course, we are. I mean, she's great. I like hanging out with her. It's rare to find someone who is .., what's the word?.. as sophistcated and intellectual as I am."

"Are you saying we are crude and stupid?" Kunzite asked.

"I mean girls! But you may be right about that, Kunzite."

"No argument here, Zoicite. You are more sophisticated and intellectual than we are, maybe too much. You are just all up in your head all the time. The fun part is to act! not to think!" Nephrite said while pumping his fist to his palm.

"That's why you look like savage, Nephrite. You don't think." Zoicite said

" I just don't think it's a good way to live. That's all. We are human. We have to go out there and experience the world, or the moon."

"So you want to go to the moon, Nephrite?" Jadeite asked.

"Hell yeah. Jupiter says Earth looks so beautiful from up there." Nephrite answered.

"So you want to go to the moon to see the Earth?" Zoicite asked.

Nephrite nodded.

"That's twisted. But I get it, you are a stargazer. You love looking at stars and planets in space." Kunzite said.

Nephrite shrugged and said "let's get back to you, Zoicite. Did you learn anything about the moon from Mercury?".

"Hmm something. It seems that Lunarians are rather advanced in their knowledge and sciences. Although, Mercury did say something about how she still has no idea how some of the knowledge come about."

"What do you mean?" Kunzite asked.

"She said that while there are some knowledge on the moon that she can find out how it come about, there are some stuffs that are just so mysterious. Nobody knows where it came from, who studied it first, who developed it, who wrote it down, something like that. It's just… there."

"Now that's.. a little weird. How can there be knowledge there without people… making it or at least recording it?" Jadeite asked.

"Mercury did raise this question to the queen and the council because she thinks it's important to the advancement of the moon kingdom. But it seems that the queen and the council just simply don't think it's a big deal. They just said they are lucky to have these knowledge and power, and they will just build from here and move forward instead of looking back to the past." Zoicite said.

Nephrite thinks to himself before he said "In any case, are you learning anything new? Are they more military advanced than us?"

Zoicite paused for a minute.

Kunzite said "after all that's your goal for getting close to Mercury, right? You want to find out the stage of scientific advance and knowledge, especially military on the moon kingdom."

Zoicite was reluctant a bit and said "Yes, absolutely. I think knowing where they are compared to where we are can help us plan a better diplomacy and military strategies, but I don't think I know enough to tell you or the prince yet. I need to do more research."

"Let me know when you find out something important, ok?" Kunzite asked and then walked away.

"Forgive me for saying this, but I think that's just your excuse to spend more time with Mercury. Why don't you just admit it, bro?" Nephrite said with a grin.

Sigh. "How many times do I have to tell you, Nephrite? Not everyone's in love like you're." Zoicite said with a hint of being annoyed.

"Fine, do whatever you want. I'm going to the observe tower to look at the stars. They will tell me what you think better than you're telling me." Nephrite walked away.

"Don't take what Nephrite said too seriously. He's always joking around like that. We are spending time with the senshi to do our jobs and find out more about the moon kingdom." Jadite added.

"Yeah. I'm tired. I'm going to bed. See you tomorrow Jadite." Zoicite said and walked away.

_Yes, that's all that is to it. I'm just curious about the knowledge of the moon. That's why I like spending time with her. Nothing more. _Zoicite thinks and then get in bed. He's looking at the book Mercury has lent him last time. _I wonder what she's doing now. I'd better finish this book so I have something to talk to her next time she's here. _

—

"Hi Mercury. Welcome back. How was the trip to Earth?" Venus asked cheerfully.

"It was fine. I learned a lot." Mercury answered briefly.

"That's it. Usually, you have a lot of things to tell us when you get back from Earth." Jupiter chimed in.

"Well, I think this time I learned so many new things that I need some time to write the report." Mercury answered. _It's not like I can tell them that I was having so much with General Zoicite that I couldn't report to them right now._

"Never mind about that, Mercury. You are doing a very good job as a knowledge ambassador." Venus said. "We are learning more and more about the Earth. It seems like they are developing pretty fast. Their civilization is becoming more sophisticated. Maybe we will be able to official open the gateway between the earth and the moon sooner than we expected." Venus said.

"I wouldn't put too much hope on that yet, Venus. As a spiritual ambassador, I think people on Earth still have a long way to go before they can officially connect with us." Mars voiced her opinion.

"I don't see what the big deal is, anyway? The moon and the earth are so close to each other. It's not like we can forbid people to communicate for long. See our princess and prince Endymion as an excellent example" Jupiter said.

"The whole point of this rule to wait until the earth is ready is for the safety of the moon kingdom. The Queen and the Council fear that if the Terran are not yet ready, they may fear the power of the silver crystal, and this may cause an uproar on Earth to fight against the moon." Venus said.

"I guess it's best if we just observe quietly for now." Mars said.

" I have a question, Venus. Other than we going there to assess their civilization to determine the readiness of the earth-moon contact, are we supposed to do anything else?" Mercury asked.

" I think the main mission of ours is to find out if the Earth is ready to be in contact with us. That's what the Queen said anyway." Venus answered.

"I have a feeling that eventually it will not be up to us to decide if the Earth is ready." Mars said.

"What do you mean, Mars?" Venus asked.

"The Terrans can see the moon every night. The Lunarians can see the earth every night. They both know there are people living on the other planet. Yes, they may not know how to contact the other yet, or they may know that they are forbidden to do so, but it's just a matter of time before curiosity gets the best of us." Mars explained.

"Yes, I agree. If we can't stop the princess from contacting the Earth, how can we expect to stop the whole planet from contacting each other?" Jupiter sighed.

"That's why I asked you the question. I just don't see the point of us trying to evaluate them. It just seems to me like it's going to happen anyway. And they seem civil enough as it is now. So why forbid it?" Mercury explained.

"There are things we do not yet understand, Mercury. Our job is to follow the Queen's order. We can raise this issue during the next meeting with her next week. Maybe the Queen and the council who haven't been to Earth just have different opinions than ours. Maybe it is up to us to convince them that the Earth is ready." Venus said.

"You're right, Venus. I apologize. It's my job to let the Queen and the Council see how advanced the Earth's civilization is. I'll go back to my office and finish the report right now." Mercury said and left.

"Seems like Mercury was smitten with General Zoicite." Jupiter said to Venus and Mars.

"Oh come on. Don't drag Mercury into this. Princess Serenity's already in love with Prince Endymion, and you are so fond of General Nephrite. Don't try to drag Mercury to be your partner in crimes." Mars reprimanded Jupiter.

"It may be a crime now, but it won't be for long." Jupiter said.

"I just don't understand how you act so carefree when you are doing something forbidden." Mars asked.

"When you meet someone you love with all your heart, you'll understand." Jupiter told Mars.

"Stop the argument. It's no use, is it?" Venus said.

"By the way, aren't you going to Earth next?" Jupiter asked Mars.

"Yes, but unlike somebody, I will be doing my job instead of flirting with guys." Mars said jokingly.

"Wait until you meet someone, Mars. You'll see." Jupiter said.

Mars shrugged and then walked away.

"Mars doesn't seem to have a favorable attitude of Earth. Do you think it's a good idea to send her to Earth again?" Jupiter asked Venus.

"She'll be fine. Mars is the best in assessing spiritual development of Earth than any of us anyway." Venus said.

" I thought General Jadeite showed you the spiritual side of Earth already. Why did you need to send Mars there again?" Jupiter asked.

Venus couldn't say that Jadeite had been practically begging her for some time alone with Mars since the first time Venus and Mars went to Earth. She knows that it's wrong to for Lunarians to be with Terrans, but as the senshi of love, she saw Jadeite would be a perfect match for Mars. Mars is proud and distant. She needs some love and gentleness in her life, and if anyone can melt her heart, it would be Jadeite.

"Mars will be fine, Jupiter. I trust that this next visit will go well." Venus said with a grin.

—

Author's note: Thank you very much for all the reviews. You guys are keeping me writing. I'm glad someone enjoy my story :)


	10. Betrayal

At Silver Millennium

"She said yes!" Nephrite rushed to the garden where Kunzite, Zoicite and Jadeite were relaxing.

"Congratulations, Nephrite! Man, you are one step ahead of us." Kunzite patted him on the back.

"You will pave the way for us all, Nephrite. That's brave of you." Zoicite said.

"I just did what my heart told me to do." Nephrite said.

"Please keep your sugary talk for Jupiter. We don't need to hear it." Kunzite said jokingly.

"How are things going with you and Mars, Jadeite?" Nephrite asked.

Jadeite smiled. "It's going great actually. She was a torn between her duty and her heart at first, but now she realized that they can go together."

"How did you manage to convince her to fall in love with you, anyway? She seems rather angry all the time." Zoicite asked.

"She's actually really sweet." Jadeite said.

"Sweet? Mars? Only you would say that. She scared the hell out of me last time I saw her." Nephrite said.

"She takes her duty seriously. That's all." Jadeite explained.

"And anyone would fall in love with Jadeite anyway. He's the sweetest and the most gentle guy, probably, on Earth. He could have had any girl he wants. A more interesting question is why he falls in love with Mars." Kunzite said.

"Then why do you love Venus? Tell me Kunzite." Jadeite asked back.

"I don't know. I just do." Kunzite answered.

"Right back at you." Jadeite said and looked at Kunzite.

Zoicite rolled his eyes. "We're never getting the truth out of him, Kunzite. Time to give up."

Not so far away, standing Beryl hiding behind a tree.

"So the shitennou are in love with sailor senshi. How perfect." Beryl said to herself.

—

Berly borrowed the power of Queen Metallia and took control over the shitennou's minds while they were sleeping.

Kunzite opened his eyes, full with rage. He got up and saw the other shitennou already gathered at their usual place.

"It's time to protect our Earth from the Moon Kingdom." Kunzite announced.

All three Generals nodded with determination. However, their eyes were lifeless.

Beryl walked in.

"Are you ready to stand up for your Kingdom, Generals?" Beryl asked.

"Please lead the way." Kunzite said and bowed slightly.

Nephrite and Jadeite were following Kunzite, but Zoicite seemed lost in his thought.

"What is it, Zoicite? Are you not ready for the battle?" Jadeite asked.

"No, I am. I just thought I've forgotten something important." Zoicite said.

"Nothing is more important than protecting the Middle Kingdom. Let's go." Jadeite said and walked ahead.

Zoicite followed him, but his mind was still spinning, trying to find an answer to his nagging feeling that there was something wrong.

—

In front of the Moon Palace, there stood Beryl and the Four Generals. Sailor Senshi were stunned when they saw the Generals, each armed with a long sword and a shield, standing there with cold evil eyes.

The battle had started in no time. There was no explanation. The Generals started attacking the Lunar guards.

Venus realized what was happening immediately. She was still confused, but seeing her guards killed by her lover and his friends, she realized that her duty now had to come first. She would find an explanation later. The goal was to protect the Silver Crystal and Princess Serenity at all cost. She began attacking at Kunzite with full speed. Kunzite were now confronting Venus.

Mars was stunned by what she saw. Her sweet and gentle Jadeite was now on a killing spree. Even as a General, Jadeite rarely used his sword. But now it seemed as if the sword is the only tool he knew how to use.

Jadeite looked directly at Mars. Mars stared back at him.

"They've changed, Mars. They are not the General we knew. Fight him!" Venus yelled as she saw her fellow senshi didn't move.

_I don't believe you've changed, Jadeite. You are in there somewhere. You are the only man I trust. _

Mars decided to walk straight to Jadeite, fearing nothing. She believed in him. But Jadeite didn't waste any time. He ran towards her with his sword and pierce it through her body. Her eyes were pale with shock. She felt down on her knees. She looked at him with disappointment and regret.

_I trusted you until the last moment of my life. I'm such a fool. _Mars said to herself.

But her loss would not be wasteful. She grabbed his sword with the last energy she had.

"This is the end for you and me." Mars uttered beforesetting them both on fire.

—

As Nephrite, Kunzite and Jadeite were engaging in the battle, Zoicite was battling his conflicting feeling. He were fighting along his fellow Generals, but he knew that something was wrong. He kept feeling a sharp pain in his head while he was fighting the Lunar guards. Then he spotted Mercury.

_Mercury. Mercury. How could I have forgotten you? _He thought and then he felt a sharp pain on his head. He touched his temple with his left hand.

_Kill sailor senshi and take the Silver Crystal to protect the Earth. _That voice kept coming at him.

Mercury started to walk to Zoicite.

"Don't come any closer." Zoicite yelled, while struggling to gain his ground.

"I've changed, Mercury. Someone is controlling me. Kill me before I hurt you." Zoicite yelled.

"I can't do that. I'll get you back to your senses. Hang in there. I'll find a way to help you." Mercury said with a shaky voice.

Zoicite was fighting the Beryl's mind control. He was in so much pain. He felt down on one knee. It was hard for him to even stand up.

"Kill me, Mercury, please." Zoicite said.

Mercury looked at him "Don't ever ask me that." She rushed to helped him stand up.

"I have to protect you." Zoicite said and then stabbed himself with his own sword.

Zoicite fell, but Mercury caught him before his body hit the ground.

"Why?" Mercury said with tears.

"I promised I would protect you." Zoicite answered and then his eyes went shut.

"No" Mercury screamed as she held her lover's lifeless body in her hands.

—


	11. Farewell

After parting with the girls at ramen shop in front of the theme park, Nate, Zac and Junichi were walking home together.

"This was a fun day, wasn't it?" Nate said with a grin as he thought about his sweet time with Makoto.

"Yeah, it was a great trip before I go home. I'm glad I got to see Ami again." Zac said.

Junichi was lost in his thought pondering about what Rei had said to him earlier.

"Are you listening, Junichi?" Nate asked.

"Oh sorry. I was just thinking about something." Junichi apologized.

"You like Rei, don't you? I saw you looking at her several times today." Zac said.

"No, not at all. I was just thinking that I have met her before." Junichi answered.

"Yeah. Now that you mentioned it, I'm feeling like I've met Makoto before. The first time I met her, I thought I almost recognized her. But until today, I still can't figure out where I know her." Nate explained.

"This is all really strange. First it's you guys, now it's Rei. I wonder why." Junichi said.

"Well, it doesn't matter. I'm glad I got to meet you guys and Ami." Zac said.

"I'm glad to have met you too, Zac, except that you will leave in two days." Nate said.

"Like you are any different, Nate. You are leaving in, like what, a month and a half?" Junichi said.

"That was the plan, but now I'm not so sure anymore." Nate said.

"What do you mean? I thought you are going to college in the U.S." Zac asked.

"I thought I was, but now I feel like I should stay here." Nate said.

"Do you like Makoto that much?" Zac asked.

"Not just that. After I met you two, and then her, I felt like there is something that I'm supposed to do here. Call me crazy, but I always trust my intuition because it's usually right." Nate said.

"Anyway, we should have a little farewell party before you leave, Zac. How about I get some pizzas and invite the girls over to my place?" Nate suggested.

"You're just coming up with an excuse to meet Makoto again." Zac said.

"Well, tell me you don't want to meet Ami, and I won't plan the party." Nate asked.

Zac stayed silent.

"I thought so. Then, party it is!" Nate announced.

—

During lunch break, Ami, Makoto and Usagi were eating together in a school garden.

"Ami-chan, tomorrow Nate's throwing a going-away party for Zac at his place. Do you want to come? He invited all of us." Makoto asked.

"You mean Nephrite and Zoicite?" Usagi asked curiously.

Makoto nodded.

"I haven't met them. Can I join you guys?" Usagi asked.

"I'm not saying that I'll go, Usagi." Ami said.

"What? You don't want to go, Ami-chan?" Usagi asked.

"I don't think I should go." Ami said.

"Why?" Makoto asked.

"I think it's better for Zac and I to not see each other again. He's leaving in a few days. Spending time with him knowing that he will soon be away is…painful." Ami said sadly and looked down at the ground.

Makoto and Usagi looked at Ami.

"Don't you think you at least want to say good bye." Makoto asked quietly.

"I've said good bye to him once. I can't do it again." Ami said as she recalled how she had to say good bye to a lifeless body of General Zoicite during the battle between Earth and the Moon Kingdom.

"I understand." Makoto said as she recalled seeing her fellow senshi said good bye to her lover's body during the battle. It was a painful memory.

"Please tell him that I wish him a safe trip back home." Ami said with a said look.

"I will." Mako said to Ami.

—

The next day Makoto, Usagi, and Minako arrived at Nate's apartment around 6 PM. Makoto knocked on the door.

"Hey welcome everyone. So glad you can come tonight." Nate opened the door and let the girls in.

"I don't think you've met Usagi. This is my friend, Usagi. Usagi, this is Nate." Makoto said.

"Nice to meet you, Usagi." Nate said.

"Nice to meet you too, Nate" Usagi said with a big smile.

While Nate was walking ahead to lead the girls to the living room, Usagi whispered to Makoto. "I can see why you can't resist him, Mako-chan. He's so handsome. Just like the old days."

"Usagi, be quiet!" Makoto whispered to Usagi.

"Where's Ami?" Nate asked.

"Oh! Ami can't make it. She has a tutoring school to go to." Mako answered.

"That's too bad. I think Zac is really looking forward to seeing Ami." Nate said.

"Don't exaggerate, Nate. They will get the wrong idea." Zac came out from the kitchen and walked toward the group.

"If anything, I think they'll get the right idea about you two." Nate whispered to himself.

"Nate, I just looked. We run out of soda. I'll go get some from the supermarket." Zac said and hurried out the door.

"How can we run out of soda? The party's just started. And you can't leave your own party, Zac!" Nate shouted.

Zac ran and ran. Out of breath, he stopped in front of a cafe where he met Ami before the chess tournament. He looked inside and saw Ami sitting there by herself. She had a book open in front of her, but her mind seemed to be somewhere else. Zac entered the cafe and walked to Ami.

"I figured you'd be here." Zac said.

Ami recognized Zac's voice and looked at him, surprisingly. "Shouldn't be at your party?"

"I have something I want to give you." Zac said while reaching inside his shirt pocket.

"This is a Knight piece from my personal chess set. I want you to have it." Zac handed the piece to Ami.

"It's so beautiful." Ami carefully received the piece and looked at it.

"It's made from Zoicite." Zac said.

_Don't do this to me, Zoicite. This is already too painful. _Ami thought.

"I can't take this. If I take it, how would you play with your chess set?" Ami asked.

"I'll be waiting to play it with you." Zac said and smiled.

Zac got up and said "Take good care of it, until we see each other again." Zac smiled, got up and left the cafe.

Ami held the Knight chess piece in her hand and whispered. "Until we see each other again."


	12. Falling in love again

Makoto, Nate, Rei, Juichi, Minako, and Usagi went camping together. It was Nate's idea. He hadn't have a chance to explore much of Japan natural scenery, so Makoto suggested they all went camping on the mountain. Usagi suggested that they should all do together to have fun and training at the same time. Rei wasn't so keen on the idea, but Minako and Usagi worked real hard to convince Rei to come along.

"If this is supposed to be for our training, how come Ami is not here?" Rei said irritably.

"Well, Ami had a mock-up exam this weekend, so it can't be helped." Minako made an excuse.

"And you know you want to come here, Rei. You just don't want to admit it." Minako said with a grin.

"What are you talking about?" Rei asked.

"Minako meant that you weren't interested in coming here until you heard that Junichi will be here too, right?" Usagi asked Rei.

"That's absurd. I didn't come here because Junichi is here. I came because you guys dragged me here. Plus, we can't have Makoto here with Nate alone. It won't be appropriate." Rei said.

"Whatever you say, Rei, but we are all here now. Let's have fun!" Usagi yelled and ran to catch up with Makoto, Nate, and Junichi who had walked a bit further.

"Yeah a little bit of nature won't hurt." Minako smiled and rushed to catch up with the group.

"Come on, Rei. As a senshi, it would be great to brush up on your surviving skills." Artemis told Rei.

"Fine, whatever." Rei said and walked to catch up with the group.

Once they all got to the camp site, Nate suggested "Junichi and I will set up the tents. Why don't you girls go relax by the lake?"

"No we can't have you do all the work. Besides, it will be faster if we all help." Mako said to Nate with a smile.

So, they were all setting up their own tents. Nate and Junichi had no problem setting up their tent. Mako and Rei took a while, but the tent was set up perfectly. The problem was with Usagi and Minako, who didn't seem to know what they were doing.

"Let me help you with that." Junichi offered.

"Thank you, Junichi. You are such a gentleman." Minako said loudly to make sure Rei heard her.

Rei rolled her eyes. _I can't believe Minako. Cut if out already._

"Now that we've set up our tents. Should we go hiking around the area?" Nate suggested.

"That's a good idea. I've done some research and here are some hiking trails we can follow." Junichi said while setting out a map in front of him.

"Let's go to this one. We can see the view of the lake from the top of the mountain." Nate suggested.

"But that's like a 10 km hike, Nate. I don't want to do that. Why don't you and Mako go and we'll just follow the trail near here." Minako said and winked at Makoto.

Usagi immediately picked up on Minako's idea. "That sounds good. I'm a little tired from sitting on the bus already. I think I just want to go for a shorter hike around here." Usagi said.

"Plus, you've never been here before, Nate. You should enjoy the best hike!" Minako said.

"If you wouldn't mind, Mako?" Nate asked her.

"Not at all. I'm planning to get some serious workout here, so let's do it!." Makoto said.

Nate and Makoto packed some water and snacks, then went off on their hike.

"Shall we go as well? Even if we are just following the 5-km trail, we have to get going if we want to make it back before dark." Junichi said.

"Yeah, let's go!" Usagi shouted with excitement.

—

Nate and Makoto was at the half way of their hike, admiring the view of the whole mountain from the top.

"It's so beautiful and peaceful here." Nate said.

"Yeah, I like to come here when I'm stressed. Being with nature helps calm me down." Makoto said.

"What do you usually stress about, Mako-chan?" Nate asked with concerns.

"About…" Mako stopped herself before she said fighting.

_That was close. I almost forgot that he didn't know about me being a senshi. It was just so comfortable being around him. And when I'm with him, I always think about how we used to be in our past lives._

"Nothing in particular. Maybe about my heartaches." Mako changed the subject.

"What do you mean, Mako?" Nate asked.

"I am not a typically beautiful Japanese girl. I'm too tall, too curvy, and people always say I'm too masculine. I've had my heart broken many times I can't even count. It's so normal for me to get rejected." Mako said. She wasn't planning on telling him this, but the serene nature surrounding them makes her feel like opening up to him more.

"Can I tell you something, Makoto?" Nate asked.

"What is it?" Mako said.

"I think you are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life." Nate said honestly while looking into Mako's eyes.

Makoto's face turned red. She avoided his gaze.

"And I'm not just saying that. The definition of beauty is always different from person to person. You shouldn't worry about fitting into a society's definition of beauty. You just have to find the one person that likes you for who you are." Nate said.

Makoto's eyes were tearing up a little. Makoto looked at Nate and smiled.

"You are so sweet, Nate." Mako said.

"If you don't mind me saying it, I like that you are tall and curvy. Girls like Usagi and Minako are too short and too thin." Nate said with a smile.

"Now you're just saying that." Mako said shyly.

"I'm not. I really think you are the most beautiful girl, Makoto." Nate said.

They both leaned in and kissed each other. It was sweet and gentle.

Nate pulled his lips away from her a little and said "I think I'm in love with you, Makoto."

Makoto was a little surprised to hear Nate say that.

"I know this is crazy. We've just met each other a couple of weeks ago, but I feel like I've known you all my life." Nate explained.

_You are not crazy, dear. We've known each other for more than one lifetime. _Makoto thought.

" I love you too, Nate." Mako said slowly and looked into his eyes.

They smiled and embraced each other.

"I don't know what the future will hold for us, but for now I know that I love you, Makoto." Nate said.

_I don't know what will happen to us in the future, either, but I don't care anymore. _Mako thought to herself and rested her head on his broad shoulder.

—

"I don't really want to go back, but we should get going before it gets dark." Nate said to Makoto while holding her in his arms.

"You're right. Let's go. I'll make you a nice dinner." Makoto said.

"And after that, I will tell you the tales of the stars tonight." Nate said while touching her cheek.

They both walked down from the top of the mountain for a few hours.

"It's getting dark faster than I thought. We have to hurry up, Makoto." Nate said.

"I guess we spent too much time on the top of the mountain." Makoto said while walking closely behind him.

"I don't regret it for one second." Nate turned and looked at Makoto.

Mako smiled at him. "Me neither." She said.

"Be careful, Makoto. This is pretty steep." Nate warned her while he was walking down the path ahead of her.

"Don't worry, Nate. I'm fine, ouch!" Mako exclaimed.

"Are you ok?" Nate quickly turned back to see Makoto.

"Ouch" Mako touched her left ankle and felt a sharp pain.

"Seems like you twisted your ankle." Nate crouching down to look at Mako's ankle.

"It's just a sprain. I should be fine." Mako said while trying to stand up, but her ankle didn't agree with her. She's wobbling and almost fell to the side. Luckily, Nate caught her before she hit the ground.

"You can't walk like this, Makoto." Nate said while holding her arm over his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Nate. After all you have warned me and everything." Makoto said with a guilt look.

"Accident happens. Don't worry about it. We'll just have to figure out a way to get back with you using your ankle the least." Nate said.

"If you can get me a stick, I can use it as a cane and walk slowly all the way back." Makoto suggested.

"I can't let you do that. It's a pretty big sprain. I don't want you to injure your ankle anymore." Nate worried.

"But I don't think there's any other way. We're still too far from the camp to ask for help." Makoto said.

"I know how." Nate said while lifting Mako and resting her on his back.

"What what are you doing, Nate? Put me down. I'm heavy." Mako said.

"Nonsense. You're not heavy at all. And I'm happy doing this for my lady." Nate said.

Mako thought about the time Nephrite said the same thing to her when she was injured from the hand combat training with him in the forest. Nephrite scooped her into his arms like a princess and walked back to the palace. Back then, as a sailor senshi, she insisted that she wan't hurt much and could walk by herself, but Nephrite refused to listen to her.

_No fine gentleman will let his own lady suffer. I'm happy to do this for you, my lady. _Makoto thought about what General Nephrite said back then.

"Hold on tight. I don't want you to fall down." Nate said.

His words snapped Mako back to the present. She put her arms around his neck and rested her body on his back while he's holding her legs with his arms. He started walking back slowly.

_Nobody's treated me like a lady. Only you, Nephrite. _Mako thought while resting her head on this back.

Nate noticed the gentleness of her face on this back. "Are you alright, Makoto?"

Makoto hardly depended on anyone since her parents passed away. She always did everything by herself. It was nice to have someone she could depend on. Everybody all needed someone to lean on once in a while. "Thank you very much, Nate. You are like my knight in shining armor." Mako said quietly.

"Coming from a strong girl like you, it's a huge compliment." Nate said with a smile.

—

Author's note. Sorry this one is taking so long. I had been stuck about where to go with the story. I spent some time figuring out the whole storyline. So hopefully this means that I should be able to get the next chapters out sooner. Thank you for reading. Let me know what you think. I'm still learning how to write fiction and I know I have a long long way to go, so any comments are greatly appreciated. :)


	13. Not everything can be said with words

Usagi, Minako, Rei and Junichi were walking along the hiking trail together. Rei was walking so fast that Junichi had to speed up to catch up with her, while Usagi and Minako were deliberately slowing down so that Rei and Junichi would have some time alone.

"Do you like hiking, Rei?" Junichi tried to come up with a small talk.

"Not really, but I don't mind hiking once in a while with my friend." Rei said.

"You and your friends seem really close." Junichi said.

"Yes, they are my best friends." Rei said.

"Forgive me to saying this, Rei, but why do you seem to be angry all the time?" Junichi said.

"Angry? No one ever said that to me. I think I look rather calm." Rei said.

"Yes, you look calm and serene, but I feel that you have a fire inside. Something's burning, but you're keeping it inside." Junichi said.

_You're as perceptive as always. Why do you insist on talking about feeling? I don't want to appear weak in front of you._

"I think you are mistaken, Junichi. I'm not angry. I just have a lot of things on my mind." Rei said.

"Do you want to tell me? Maybe you'll feel better." Junichi.

"I have my friends for that, Junichi. I don't need you." Rei said.

Rei turned to Junichi.

"Let's cut off all the pointless chitchat. Why are you spending time with me? Minako or Usagi is a lot more fun to be with." Rei asked.

"I don't know, Rei. Not everything can be said with words. I just feel that we have something unfinished." Junichi said.

"Unfinished? We barely know each other" Rei said.

"Yes, but I feel like we should spend some time together." Junichi said.

"Do you always follow your feeling without thinking?" Rei asked.

"Only with my strongest feelings." Junichi said.

Rei looked at him, having nothing to say back to him.

_I can't take this anymore. All I can see is Jedeite, not Junichi. I know it's not fair to think of Junichi as Jadeite, but how can I not? Are you the same person? or different? Should I be angry with you? or not? Who are you?_

"Junichi, why are you spending time with me?" Rei asked him point-blank.

"Because I like you." Junichi answered.

Rei blushed with embarrassment mixed with anger.

_So you've kept that saying-anything-in-your-heart nature of Jadeite as well? Why am I not surprised?_

"I know it's weird considering we've just met, but I like you. And I want to get to know you better." Junichi explained.

"Let me be clear on this. I don't have time for dating and I'm not interested in dating. Don't waste your time, Junichi." Rei said.

"Why is that?" Junichi asked.

"Not everything can be said with words." Rei answered and then hurriedly walked away.

—

It was after school. Usagi and Minako were walking to Hikawa shrine to see Rei and have a little get-together.

"Ami and Mako can't make it today. Ami has tutoring school and Mako has a date with Nate, but she sent these cookies along for us to enjoy." Usagi said while holding a box of cookies Mako made and showing it to Minako.

"I'm surprised you didn't eat them all already, Usagi. Mako's cookies are irresistible." Minako said.

"Well, we haven't gotten together since that hiking trip. I'm worried about Rei. She didn't look so well during that trip. I wanted to cheer her up." Usagi said.

Usagi and Minako were walking up to the shrine when they bumped into Junichi.

"Hi Junichi. What are you doing here?" Minako asked.

"Um, I just came to see Rei." Junichi said shyly.

"What've you got there?" Minako asked when she saw Junichi holding something in his hands.

"No, nothing. Just a gift." Junichi tried to hide it behind him but Minako was faster and snatched it out of his hands.

"Chocolates. That's nice, but Rei doesn't like chocolates." Minako said while returning the box to Junichi.

"Get Japanese sweets next time." Minako said and winked.

"Thanks, Minako. I owe you one." Junichi said and rushed out.

"Wait, aren't you going to see Rei?" Usagi asked.

"Not with the gift she won't like." Junichi answered back while rushing out. "I'll be right back."

"Such a sweet guy!" Usagi exclaimed and then noticed that Minako was looking sad.

"What's wrong, Minako?" Usagi asked.

"Do you think Kunzite doesn't want to find me?" Minako asked with tears welling up in her eyes.

"Zoicite found Ami, Nephrite found Makoto, Junichi found Rei, but I haven't seen Kunzite. Maybe he doesn't want to find me." Minako said while shaking her head.

Usagi patted Minako's on her shoulder and said "Don't worry, Minako. I'm sure he'll find you."

Minako chuckled and smiled at Usagi. "Somehow when you say stuffs like that, I really believe it will happen. That's your magic, Usagi." Minako said.

Usagi smiled. They both walked up to Hikawa shrine.

"Hi Rei!" Usagi waved at Rei, who was cleaning the shrine's ground in her priestess uniform.

Minako and Usagi walked to Rei's room, while Rei were getting them some tea. Minako noticed that there was a pile of stuffs at the corner of Rei's room. Among them were a rose bouquet and a small notebook.

Rei came back into the room with a tea tray.

"Rei, what are those?" Minako asked and pointed to the pile of stuffs.

"Oh! Those are, um, just gifts." Rei answered

"From Junichi?" Minako guessed.

"How did you?" Rei looked at Minako.

"We ran into him on the way here." Minako answered while sipping her tea.

"Look at the amount of stuffs here, I'm guessing he has been here everyday?" Minako asked.

Rei nodded.

"So he's going old-school. That's just like Jadeite." Minako said.

"He's not Jadeite." Rei said firmly.

"What?" Usagi and Minako exclaimed at the same time.

"That's not what I meant. In fact, I, I don't know who he is. Is he Jadeite? Is he Junichi? Is he both? I don't know." Rei explained.

"Wow, the only person who could make you feel this confused was Jadeite, and seems like it's happening again." Minako said.

"It's not happening again." Rei yelled.

Minako chuckled. "If I had my old lover coming to see me everyday with gifts, I wouldn't have been able to stay cold and distant like you." Minako mumbled.

"What did you say?" Rei asked.

"Nothing" Minako answered.

"I think our focus should be on why the shitennou are coming back now. Did you tell Mamoru about them?" Rei asked Usagi.

"I haven't told him anything. I don't want to distract him from his study. Plus, his summer training is going to end soon anyway. I will discuss this with him then." Usagi said.

"Also, even though we are pretty sure Nate, Zac and Junichi look like shitennou, we have no real proof that they are the shitennou." Minako said.

"The only person who can say for sure if they are the shitennou is Mamoru." Rei said.


	14. Devotion

"You wish to see me, Lady Beryl?" Ferdinand, a tall young man with a dark hair and deep blue eyes, dressed in a black military uniform said to Beryl.

"Yes. I have something to discuss with you. In private." She said and signaled the servants to leave her chamber.

"What could be so important that Lady Beryl has to discuss with me in private?" Ferdinand asked because it was surely strange for any knight to be in a noble lady's chamber alone with her.

"It is indeed a serious matter. As a power knight of our kingdom, you must have worked alongside Prince Endymion's for many years. Am I correct?" Beryl asked.

"This is correct, Lady Beryl." Ferdinand answered.

"Have you noticed that Prince Endymion is acting differently?" Beryl asked.

Ferdinand recalled those days when all Endymion did was combat training with the Four Generals and studying about the Middle Kingdom and her people. Those days felt like a dream, long gone from the present. Since the official visit from the Moon's Queen, Serenity and her daughter, Princess Serenity, along with four sailor guardians, Endymion has never been like himself.

"If you may permit me to say so, I have some concerns about the Prince's sudden change of behavior." Ferdinand admitted.

"We all know that the Moon Kingdom is trying to evaluate to see if the Earth is fit to be a part of Silver Alliance. I feel uneasy about this sudden interest of the Moon on Earth. I fear what might happen to our people if the Lunarians' intention is malicious." Beryl said.

"I think we all share the same concern, Lady Beryl. But that is not a reason for you to be feared. The Generals, the Knights and Terran Guards will handle everything." Ferdinand said.

"I do not fear Lunarians attacking Earth. We have much stronger army than they do. Even without magic, we can outnumber them easily if there were to attack us. But I feel they will have a much more cunning move in mind." Beryl said.

"I do not comprehend what you are saying, Lady Beryl." Ferdinand said.

"Prince Endymion is in love with Princess Serenity." Beryl said.

Ferdinand looked perplexed when hearing this. Besides the Generals and himself, no one else is supposed to know about this. And Ferdinand only knows because he had to be their chaperon in place of Nephrite who had other urgent matters to attend to at that time.

"I don't know what you are talking about, Lady Beryl. I believe the relationship between the Prince and the Princess is strictly for interplanetary benefits." Ferdinand answered.

"I'm not blind, Ferdinand. Anyone who looks closely enough will see that Endymion is in love, with Serenity." Beryl continued.

Ferdinand has always feared this. How much longer will the prince be able to keep this secret anyway?

"I know you devote your life to Endymion and the Kingdom, and I admire you for that. But I hear that the Queen and the Princess Serenity can use the Silver Crystal to change people. I fear she will use it to turn the Prince against Earth." Beryl said.

Ferdinand, not being really close to Beryl, hesitated to tell her anything, but after hearing that she shares the same concern that he has been worrying about for so long, Beryl's words sparked his interest. He has been wanting to prevent the Prince and the Princess relationship but had no idea how. And the Generals are just as hopelessly in love as the Prince.

"What are you suggesting?" Ferdinand asked.

"I know a powerful sorceress from the forbidden south. If it really comes down to it, she will give us the power to protect Earth from the Moon." Beryl said.

"Does the King know about this?" Ferdinand asked.

"No! The King must not know of this!" Beryl yelled.

"The King places far too great a responsibility on Endymion. And the King trusts Queen Serenity too much. We must help from the sideline." Beryl continued.

Some glaring concerns crept into Ferdinand's mind. "Why do you trust me with this? What do you want me to do for you? You could have done all this by yourself without my help." Ferdinand asked.

"Just as I expected from the wisest Knight of the Middle Kingdom. The truth is besides the Generals, you are the only one close enough to see Endymion everyday. Endymion trusts you. You are like his brother." Beryl said.

The word "like his brother" stung his heart a little bit.

"You can keep an eye on him seeing if he was controlled by the Princess. If there's any sign, you let me know immediately." Beryl commanded.

"I'm not going to betray the Prince, Lady Beryl. If you think that I will, you are greatly mistaken." Ferdinand answered.

"I'm not asking you to betray him. We are looking out for Earth's best interest. You of all people should know how weak a man can be when he is in love. If you really are loyal to the Prince, you would help him any way you could, even if it means doing something that he didn't ask you to do." Beryl said.

Hearing that concerns he has been playing in his head over and over again spelt out so eloquently, Ferdinand decided to consider it.

"Very well. If I find anything alarming, I will report to you, Lady Beryl."

"I'm counting on you, Ferdinand. The Middle Kingdom is counting on you." Beryl said.

Ferdinand bowed slightly and then walked out of the chamber.

—

Ferdinand walked to the training ground and saw Endymion engaging in a hand-to-hand combat with Nephrite, while the other Generals were watching from the side. Ferdinand walked in just right before Nephrite beaten Endymion by the skin's of his teeth.

"You need more practice, your Highness." Ferdinand commented.

"Go easy on him, Ferdinand. His mind is not here today." Jadeite said.

"He's waiting to see his Princess tonight." Zoicite said.

"Again? Don't you think it's a little too much. We can't keep this a secret for long if you meet the Princess almost every night." Ferdinand asked Endymion.

"It's not just me. These guys want to see their girls too, you know." Endymion said and gazing at the four Generals.

"Let get something straight. I don't have 'my girl' on the Moon. I just have a colleague with whom I enjoy discussing things from time to time." Jadeite said.

"And have heated arguments all the time." Zoicite commented.

"So what? We are both passionate about things." Jadeite said.

"About things or about each other?". Nephrite asked while letting out his hair that had been tied up for the combat training.

"Regardless, Mars is going to accompany the Princess tonight. We will discuss spiritual practices of Earth and Moon and learn from each other." Jadeite explained.

"That's so romantic. You are a lady-killer, Jadeite." Zoicite said in a sarcastic tone.

"Oh yeah, like playing chess is a library is so romantic." Jadeite fought back.

"It is for me and Mercury." Zoicite smiled smugly.

"Don't worry Ferdinand. We'll keep an eye on this matter and make sure no one knows about it." Kunzite said.

"You'd better. If our people know that the Head General has befriended the Moon Kingdom's head guardian, people are going to get suspicious about your loyalty and devotion to Earth." Ferdinand said to Kunzite.

"Oh I forgot to tell you. Last night Mercury brought this along for me to give you. It's from Jupiter." Zoicite said.

"And you waited half a day to tell me that?" Nephrite said while snatching the box out of Zoicite's hand.

Nephrite opened it. "Cookies! That's so sweet of her." Nephrite said.

Ferdinand rolled his eyes at the sight of his fellow warriors and the Prince being in love with Lunarians. Maybe it's right for him to concern after all.

—

"It's time." Beryl said to Ferdinand.

"The Prince is far too long gone. And the Moon is getting ready to attack us at any moment. We have to move first before they can do anything." Beryl said.

"What is your plan, Lady Beryl?" Ferdinand asked.

"I need you to get ahold of the Generals. Right now they are no doubts on the moon's side. But they are also a powerful force that we cannot afford to lose if we were to win over the Moon Kingdom. You have to get them back on our side." Beryl said.

"And how can I do that?" Ferdinand asked.

"Matallia, the sorceress, knows how to get them back on our side. I just need your little help." Beryl said.

"Lady Beryl, at this point, I will do anything I can to help defend the Earth." Ferdinand said.

"You deserve better, Ferdinand. You are the most loyal warrior to Earth. I don't know how the King and the Prince overlooked you. You should have been the head General instead of Kunzite." Beryl said.

"Your words flatter me, Lady Beryl. All my life, I only want to be of service to my home planet. I will let nothing and no one get in my way." Ferdinand said.

"Not even my brother." Ferdinand mumbled to himself.

—

Stood before the Moon Palace was Beryl, the Generals and Ferdinand, followed by thousands of armed Terrans. Beryl was full of power that Metallia gave her. The Generals were more than ready to fight, with their piercing looks that could kill anyone. The looks that none of the senshi has seen before. That terrifying look of warrior hungry for blood and battle.

But before the Terran army could do anything, Endymion stood between the his own army and the Moon Palace.

"Get out of the way, Endymion. Do you care about the Moon more than the Earth now?" Ferdinand yelled.

"Lanarians have no ill intention toward people of Earth. We have to stop this." Endymion said.

"Endymion, can't you see that the Princess is using you and turning you against your home planet?" Ferdinand said.

Endymion moved to protect Serenity. He stood tall and pulled out a sword.

"Get out of the way, Endymion." Ferdinand yelled.

But before anything happened, Beryl swords aiming at Serenity had been drawn. Endymion used his body to protect the woman he loved.

"No Endymion!" Ferdinand yelled out as this horrific scene unfolding before his eyes. He was trying his best to spare the Prince, but Endymion was too strong for Metallia to control him, unlike his Generals. Ferdinand already made a decision that if it had come down to choose between saving the Earth and his Prince, he would have to choose his home planet first.

Ferdinand, however, didn't prepare for the death of his Prince to be the first thing unfolded in the battle. This sent him into a full rage and he started killing any Lunarians guards he could lay his sword on.

The battle had officially began. One by one the shitennou were taken down, along with the three senshi. Ferdinand managed to survive through all the Lunarians' attacks, although with several severe wounds all over his body. Ferdinand got to the Palace and saw the Queen being distraught by the death of her daughter.

_This is my chance to end this chaos._ Ferdinand thought and ran quickly, aiming his sword at the Queen.

"Venus Love Me Chain."

Venus's chain took the sword out of Ferdinand's hand. Ferdinand, not preparing for a sudden attack, lost his balance and fell.

"Venus Crescent Beam"

The beam went right through his heart. Before losing consciousness, Ferdinand vowed "I will never let this happen again. NEVER." Then he lost the last of his breath and life force.

—

AN. Not a lot of senshi x shitennou in this one. More of them to come soon.


	15. Enemy

Mamoru took out his suitcase from the trunk of the cab. He closed the door and went into his apartment building. He knew that Usagi wanted to pick him up at the airport, but he couldn't have his little Bunny take a long train ride back and forth for him. So he told her to meet him at his place later today. He was excited to see Usagi, but at the same time he recalled his strange dreams he had over the past few weeks and worried that something bad may happen. His dreams were usually the sign of something. This time he heard a guy's voice telling him he was bringing the doom to Earth. He had this dream several times already, and every time it made him wake up restless. He was happy to finally be with Usagi again, to make sure that nothing bad will happen to her.

Mamoru opened the door to his apartment, which had been emptied for two months. There stood before him was not his little Bunny, but a complete strange man dressed in a military uniform similar to the shitennou's, only his was pitch black. Mamoru was sure he had never seen this guy before.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" Mamoru asked while scanning the man to see if he carried any weapon.

"Nice to see you doing well, Prince Endymion." The man bowed slightly.

"Who are you?" Mamoru asked as if having a stranger knew his past identity wasn't weird enough already.

"It seems that I am not important enough for you to remember. I, on the other hand, never forget you, Endymion." The man said.

Mamoru searched his memories and realized that this was the voice he had heard in his dreams. "You are the guy I saw in my dream." Mamoru said.

"Seems like you remember me a little. Let me refresh your memory. I am Sir Ferdinand, the Black Knight of the Middle Kingdom." The man said proudly.

Suddenly, Mamoru's memories came rushing back to him. He saw himself as Prince Endymion working together with Ferdinand in exploring the Kingdom, practicing combat, keeping orders of the army, and even spending leisure time together. This man was once his comrade.

"Ferdinand, I apologize I didn't recognize you right away." Mamoru said.

There were a lot of questions left unsaid between them. What does Ferdinand want? Why does he make an appearance now? Not that Mamoru was unfamiliar with people form his past suddenly popping into his present life, but after the battle with Beryl and the Dark Kingdom, he didn't expect to see someone from the past again so soon. Mamoru didn't dare asking questions in his mind. He wanted to see what this man wanted first.

"You looked surprised to see me, your highness." Ferdinand said.

Ferdinand addressing Mamoru as your highness only made their previous social status more salient. But Mamoru had a different view in mind.

"No need to call me your highness. I'm just Chiba Mamoru now." Mamoru explained.

Suddenly the front door opened.

"Mamo-chan are you here?" Usagi's cheerful voice penetrating through the wall as she walked in.

"Mamo-chan, who's this?" Usagi walked into Mamoru's living room and saw Ferdinand. Usagi is usually friendly with new people, but this man's attire caused her to pause. A military uniform that reminded her of the shitennou. Usagi realized instantly that this man was not Mamoru's usual friend.

"Princess Serenity, you are here too." Ferdinand said while putting up his guard.

Usagi was dumbfounded by Ferdinand's sudden utter of her past name.

"Looks like I've come at the right time. You are bringing the doom to Earth again, Endymion. Haven't you learned your lesson?" Ferdinand spoke with a loud voice.

"Ferdiand, what happened then was a long time ago. Now I'm just a normal guy and she's just a normal girl. There's no need for hostility." Mamoru said in a rather calm voice.

"Endymion, my mission in this life is simple. To prevent history from repeating itself. I will not let the two of you bring the Earth down again." Ferdinand declared.

"Nothing like that is going to happen. The Earth is peaceful now. You have nothing to worry about." Usagi said.

"Hold you tongue, Princess. I will break you two apart, or die trying." Ferdinand said.

Mamoru moved to a defensive position and used his body to block Usagi from Ferdinand.

"Ferdinand, if you were truly one of my Knights, you will listen to me. Usagi will bring no harm to Earth." Mamoru said.

"She is blinding you again, Endymion. Looks like I have no choice." Ferdinand said while forming a dark ball of energy with his hands. The first attack was directed at the space between Usagi and Mamoru. They broke apart and Usagi fell to the side.

"Everyone! Come to Mamoru's apartment. Quick!" Usagi said to the communicator before transforming into Sailor Moon.

"Let me handle this, Usagi." Mamoru said as he transformed into Tuxedo Mask. He then launched his attack. "Tuxedo LaSmoking Bomber."

Ferdinand appeared unaffected. "You have become weaker, Endymion." Ferdinand said smugly and formed another attack. Then suddenly he heard.

"Supreme thunder".

Ferdinand leapt up and hovered above Tuxedo Mask and 5 Sailor Senshi.

_The Senshi are here too. History is really repeating itself. But where are the shitennou?_ Ferdinand thought as he scanned Mamoru's room. He saw four stones sitting nicely in a glass box on Mamoru's desk. He knew instantly that this meant the shitennou had not yet been awaken.

"Six against one hardly seems fair, right? I will spare you a fight today. After all, it would be humiliating for you six to lose to one man. But mark my words, I will be right back. With the Shitennou." Ferdinand said and disappeared.

"Who the hell was that?" Venus yelled out.

"And why was he attacking you two?" Jupiter asked.

"That's Ferdinand. He was one of my Knights from the Middle Kingdom." Tuxedo Mask explained.

"If he was your Knight, then why did he attack you?" Mercury asked, feeling perplexed.

"He said that Usagi and I being together will bring the doom to Earth just like last time." Tuxedo Mask explained.

"He said he will be back with the Shitennou. What does that mean?" Venus asked.

"I don't know either. I can't remember everything, but I have a vague feeling that he was quite close to me and the Shitennou." Tuxedo Mask explained.

"He spoke as if the Shitennou were still alive. But that can't be. You saw they got killed by Metallia, right?" Mamoru asked the four senshi after he detransformed.

Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

They all detransformed back to their civilian forms.

"We have some news to tell you." Usagi said while grasping his arm, pulling him down to sit with her on a couch.

—

"What? You guys saw the Shitennou?" Mamoru asked, bewildered by what he just heard.

"Ami met Zac, um, Zoicite at a chess competition. Makoto met Nate, or Nephrite at the planetarium. Then we met Junichi or Jadeite at the theme park." Minako explained.

"What about Kunzite?" Mamoru asked.

"We haven't seen him yet." Minako said, looking slightly disappointed.

"How do you know it was them? Did they tell you anything?" Mamoru asked.

"They don't remember anything from the Silver Millennium time or even when they were with the Dark Kingdom. They don't remember us as Sailor Senshi. They appear to be just normal guys." Makoto explained.

"So, in conclusion, we are not sure if they are really the shitennou. We just…have the feeling that they are." Ami continued.

Mamoru remained sat down, looking at the ground, thinking. He glanced at the four stones on his tables. "We have to find them." Mamoru decided. "And wake them up to who they really are."

"I don't think so." Rei said.

"What do you mean, Rei?" Mamoru asked.

"These guys, for the sake of argument, let say are the reincarnation of the shitennou. They are living normal lives now. We do not need to drag them back to fight. We can handle this on our own." Rei explained with a determined look.

"Rei's right. We can fight him on our own. He's just one guy." Usagi agreed.

"No, he's more powerful than you think. If I remember correctly, he was the most powerful warrior in the Terran army. The only ones stand a chance winning against him are the Shitennou." Mamoru explained.

"So are we really going to drag them down to this fight?" Rei asked.

"I understand your concern, Rei. But these guys were my Generals. They are not afraid to fight. I also remember that there was something happened between Ferdinand, Shitennou and I. And I need to find out what it is. Maybe it's something I have to finish." Mamoru said.

"So what do you remember about Ferdinand? Do you know why he's after you and Usagi?" Minako asked.

"I have seen him in my dreams a few times over the past weeks. But I didn't expect him to show up.I vaguely recalled him as my good friend, almost like a brother. I felt like I grew up with him. And I don't know what happened, but I got busy with a training as a crown prince with the Shitennou, and then we just hardly saw each other anymore. But I don't really know why. I had no idea what he was doing during the battle between the Moon and Earth." Mamoru sighed. "I don't remember."

"Rei, I understand you want to protect Zac, Nate and Junichi, but it seems that there are things between them that Mamoru can't even remember. I think having the Shitennou with us will help us figure this out." Usagi said.

"Fine, but how do we do that? It's not like we can just tell them the story. They'll think we are crazy." Rei asked.

Mamoru stared at a glass box containing Kunzite, Nephrite, Zoicite and Jadeite and said "I know how."


	16. Zac-Zoicite

Chapter 16: Zac-Zoicite

Ami stood in front of a school building in Germany, looking through the crowd to look for someone. Zac walked out of the building with other students, then his eyes spotted Ami.

"Ami? Is that you? Zac asked, walking toward her.

"Hi Zac" Ami said softly.

Zac embraced Ami, forgetting for a moment that this was not how they greeted each other in Japan.

Ami was embarrassed being hugged in front of other people.

"Sorry. I forgot that we didn't really hug in Japan." Zac apologized.

"That's alright." Ami said.

"I'm glad you are here, but I'm also surprised." Zac asked, staring at Ami.

"I have something to tell you." Ami said.

Suddenly there came people screaming. Ferdinand suddenly appeared in front of the building in his uniform. He was holding a golden bow with fine emerald ornaments. People were running away to the side. The look in Ferdinand's eyes told them to go away.

"Good evening, Zoicite." Ferdinand said smugly, looking straight at Zac.

Ami's eyes were widened seeing Ferdinand's sudden appearance.

"I have come to enlist you to our mission of saving the world." Ferdinand said, holding the bow in front of him. "I'm sure you've missed this."

"You are talking to me?" Zac looked around and saw no one else there except he and Ami.

"Get away from him" Ami said and moved to stand between Ferdinand and Zac.

"Ami, what are you doing? Hurry up and run away!" Zac tried to stand between Ami and Ferdinand.

"Little girl, this is none of your business. Get out of the way or I will have to hurt you." Ferdinand said.

"Zac, run!" Ami held his hand and started running. Zac felt a touch of Ami's hand and knew that she really meant it. So he started running with her. Together, they reached an abandoned warehouse down the street. They slowed down when Ami saw that Ferdinand was not following them.

"Ami, what's going on?" Zac asked, panting heavily.

Ami, trying to keep her composure, looked at Zac and said. "I need you to come with me."

"Come with you? Where?" Zac asked, feeling puzzled.

Suddenly Ferdinand appeared from the sky, hovering above them.

"You think you can run away from me, little girl?" Ferdinand said while forming a dark ball of energy and threw it at Ami.

Ami took a hit of the attack and was pushed against the wall.

"Ami!" Zac yelled and rushed to Ami, but Ferdinand got in the way.

"You have no business with her. Wake up to your true self, your true mission." Ferdinand said handing the bow to Zac.

Zac was looking at the bow intensely, a familiar feeling rushing back to him. He was mesmerized by the beauty and memory of the bow. He was reaching his hand out to grab it.

"I won't let you have him." Ami shouted.

"Mercury star power makeup!"

Ami transformed into sailor Mercury. Zac was stunned to see Ami's transformation. Seeing Sailor Mercury, Zac got flashback of memories hitting him. The flash pictures of Sailor Mercury, Endymion and Ferdinand appeared in his mind. It was too much for him. He touched his head and felt down on one knee.

"Sailor Senshi!, You are quick to follow me here." Ferdinand said.

"Shine aqua illusion." Mercury launched her attack on Ferdinand.

Ferdinand, not wasting time fighting with Mercury, created a dark bubble to try to take Zac with him. But Mercury was faster and formed a barrier holding them both, protecting them from Ferdinand's attack.

Mercury teleported them both out of there.

—

Mercury and Zac were suddenly in Mamoru's living room.

Mercury, exhausting from fighting and teleporting, quickly detransformed and collapsed on the floor.

"Ami, are you ok?" Zac knelt down and held Ami.

"Ami-chan, what happened?" Usagi asked.

"Ferdinand is after the shitennou. He was trying to take Zac." Ami answered, still panting heavily.

"We have to hurry." Mamoru said.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Zac yelled.

"Zac, we have something to tell you." Ami stood up.

"This is going to sound crazy, but just bear with me. You were once a General to Prince Endymion. And now we need you to fight with us." Ami said.

"What! What are you saying? What!" Zac stammered. He had always liked Ami and admired her intelligence, so this was the last thing he would expected to hear from her.

"I know this is a lot to take and we don't want to force you into fighting with us. But we really need you. The world needs you." Mamoru said.

"Who are you?" Zac asked even though this strange man looked oddly familiar to him.

"I am Chiba Mamoru, but I was also Endymion." Mamoru said.

"You said you need me to fight, but fight with who?" Zac asked.

"He is our enemy from the past." Mamoru answered

Ami jumped in and said "He wants to kill the prince and the princess, taking their silver crystal and its power to control the world."

"So in other words, you want me to fight to protect you?" Zac asked Mamoru.

"In a way, yes." Mamoru answered.

"You seem like a nice guy, but why should I risk my life for someone I don't know?" Zac asked.

"Because you were his General in the past and he needs your help." Luna said.

"I don't remember any of that. Why do I have to fight? It doesn't make any sense." Zac said and walked out to the balcony.

Ami said to Usagi and Mamoru "Let me talk to him."

Aim walked to the balcony. "Zac? Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Ami, I'm confused." Zac said, looking straight at the view of Tokyo.

"I understand how you feel. When I woke up to be Sailor Mercury, I was shocked and confused." Ami said.

"Are you saying that I was someone else from the past, that I am not Zac, that I am not who I am right now?" Zac asked.

"Of course not. You are still Zac Sato, but there is a part of you. It may be a small part, but it is there, the part of you as Endymion's General Zoicite.

"And you are Sailor Mercury protecting Usagi?" Zac asked.

"Princess Serenity, yes." Ami said.

"So when they told you that you were Sailor Mercury in the past, you just accepted it and fought?" Zac asked.

"The enemy were attacking innocent people. I was glad to be able to help." Ami said.

"But this time, the "enemy" is just targeting Mamoru and Usagi. Why do we have to fight?"

"Because we sworn to protect them." Ami said.

"I still don't believe any of that." Zac said.

"I understand. It's against all logic and reason." Ami said, looking out the balcony.

A moment of silence crept up between them. Then Zac gave a long, heavy sigh and looked at Ami.

"You were incredible back there, in Germany." Zac said.

"You were pretty cool." Zac smiled at Ami.

"But I don't know if I want to be in this mess." Zac said.

"We are not going to force you, but I think if you are not going to fight with us. Ferdinand will try to get you to fight against us." Ami said.

"Ferdinand? That guy that chased us? No way. I would never be on his side." Zac said.

"It's not a matter of your will, Zac. He may have the power to control your mind." Ami said.

"That's insane." Zac snorted.

Ami looked at Zac and said "You were possessed by evil twice before, and we fought against you."

"What?" Zac yelled.

"You, along with other Generals worked for Beryl, Metallia and Dark Kingdom. You tried to take the Silver Crystal from Usagi to control the world." Ami said.

"In the past life?" Zac asked.

"Once in the past life, and once in this life." Ami said.

Zac looked shocked at what Ami said.

"Did I … hurt you?" Zac asked.

Ami nodded and Zac looked down, feeling depressed.

"But that's the past. Please fight with us now." Ami said.

"I have no idea what's going on. And even if I want to help you, I don't have any power. How can I fight?" Zac said.

"Mamoru will help you about that. If you're willing to be General Zoicite again." Ami asked and Zac walked back to the living room.

"I don't totally understand, but fine. I'll help. But not for you, for Ami." Zac said to Mamoru.

"That's ok." Mamoru said.

Mamoru picked up zoicite stone from this desk and handed it to Zac.

"If you are ready to be my General again, take this." Mamoru said.

Zac reached out his hand and grabbed the stone. Suddenly his whole body was wrapped in blue navy light. He started to feel light-headed and slowly drifted off to unconsciousness.

—

AN: Thank you very much for reading. The next chapter to come soon.

Thank you Lucky's Girl for the wonderful comments. They are really motivating. Thanks again :)


	17. Junichi-Jadeite

Chapter 17: Junichi-Jadeite

Rei was walking slowly to Junichi's apartment.

_I don't know if I can do this. I don't want to do this. Junichi, I'm sorry I have to bring you to our fight._

Rei got to Junichi's door and was going to knock when suddenly the door was opened.

"Rei. What —What are you doing here?" Junichi was taken aback by this pleasant surprise.

Rei lower her hand from the door and said " I want to talk to you."

"Really?" Junichi looked befuddled, but still wore a smile on his face.

"Please come in." Junichi gestured for Rei to walk in and he followed her.

Rei sat down on the sofa. Junichi sat on a chair facing her.

"I guess you're surprised to see me here." Rei asked with a smile, but with worry in her eyes.

"It's a nice surprise. You usually don't want to see me even when I go see you at the shrine." Junichi said.

"I'm sorry I haven't been friendly to you. There's a reason for that, but I'm not going to bother you with that now. You'll probably remember it sooner or later. Today I came to ask you a favor." Rei said.

"A favor? Anything for you, Rei" Junichi asked.

"Please let me finish before you answer." Rei said.

"Sorry. So what is it?"

"I want you to fight with us." Rei said with determination.

Junichi was taken aback by this unexpected request. He looked away and paused for a second before saying "What do you mean by fighting with you?"

"You were once a General for Prince Endymion. And the time has come for you to fight for him again, as his General." Rei said.

Junichi burst out laughing. "You're kidding, right?"

But when he saw the serious look in her eyes, he knew the raven-hair girl wasn't joking."

"I don't have time to explain. Will you come with me or not?" Rei asked him straight.

"To where?" Junichi asked.

"To see your master." Rei answered.

Junichi looked deeply at Rei. He could feel a pure strong energy coming from her. It's almost attracting his mind to hers.

"Yes, I will." Junichi said.

—

Rei walked Junichi to Mamoru's. She led him to Mamoru's living room. They saw Zac lying on the couch with Ami sitting by his side.

"Is that Zac? Is he alright?" Junichi rushed to see Zac.

"He's fine. He's just exhausted." Ami said without letting Zac off her sight.

"I see you got Zoicite." Rei said.

"Yes." Mamoru and Usagi walked out of the kitchen.

"He agreed to join us, but the awakening process must be too much for him. He's resting for now." Mamoru continued.

Mamoru took a look at the blonde guy with Rei.

"You must be Junichi. I'm Chiba Mamoru. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Junichi." Junichi said with a confused look.

"Have we met before?" Junichi asked Mamoru.

"You are as perceptive as always." Mamoru said with a smile.

"In the past, he was your master, Prince Endymion." Rei said.

"Well that explains it." He said sarcastically.

"Mamoru can help you recall your memories. Things should be easier to comprehend after that." Usagi said.

"Recall my memories?" Junichi said.

"About who you are …. were… in the past." Rei said.

"And why do I want to do that?" Junichi asked.

"I know Rei said something about fighting with you guys and then this memory thing. What's going on?" Junichi asked.

"We want you to recall your past-life memories, awaken your power and help us fight the enemy." Mamoru said.

"So what? Am I like a superhero or something?" Junichi asked.

"I guess you can think of it that way." Mamoru smiled.

"Look, I'm flattered that you all believe I have a superpower to help you guys, but I don't know if I want to jump back into the past. I want to focus on the present and the future." He said while glancing at Rei.

"If you don't want to, we're not going to force you. Just think about it." Mamoru said.

A couple of silent seconds passed. Then Rei, who was looking away, said "You and I were once lovers."

Junichi looked at Rei's.

"But then you betrayed me and fought against me." Rei looked angrily at Junichi.

"Get your memories back and explain to me what happened." Rei said sternly, almost like a command.

Rei crossed her arms and said "there is no future between us if we don't take care of the past."

"So you and I, we were….lovers?" Junichi asked.

"Yes." Rei said.

"And then I ….betrayed you?"

"Yes." Rei said sternly.

Junichi gave a big sigh.

"Ok, I will agree to recalling the past memories, but I will see what I remember before I agree to fight alongside you." Junichi said.

"Thank you for trusting us." Mamoru said with a smile.

"I want to know what happened between Rei and I, and who you were to me." Junichi said, looking at Rei and then Mamoru.

"I just feel that you both are important to me." Junichi said.

Rei looked away to high her teary eyes.

"Come with me." Mamoru let Junichi to his desk in his bedroom ,where the three stones were sitting.

Usagi looked at the two of them walking away into the other room and turned her attention to Rei.

"Rei, thank you for doing that for us. I know how painful the past is to you."

"That's ok, Usagi. I'm fine. A part of me wants to forget everything, but another part of me wants to know why he betrayed me. And with us needing him to help us fight, it's the right thing to do." Rei paused.

"And I didn't say that just to get him to agree. I realize now that we both need a closure." Rei said.

"A closure?" Ami asked.

"I'm never going to forgive him, Ami. But I want to know what happened." Rei looked at Ami and Usagi. They both looked at Rei with worries.

Rei looked away and said "We have to clear things in the past, so we can both move on." Rei tried to hide her teary eyes.

Suddenly the door flung open. Makoto were breathing heavily, showing obvious sign that she had been running for a long time. Her face was pale and scared.

"Mako-chan, what happened?" Usagi asked while tending to her tall friend, who was now crouched down on the floor, resting her back on the closed apartment's door.

"It's too late." Makoto said, looking up on the ceiling, then closing her eyes, letting her tears come down her cheeks.

She then looked at her friends and said "Nate was taken by Ferdinand. He's gone."


	18. Kunzite

Chapter 18: Kunzite

A tall guy with smooth long silver hair was sitting on a train to Tokyo. His tan skin contrasting with his silver hair made him stand out from other passengers.

Then the phone rang.

"Hi mom." He picked the phone.

"I'm on a train, mom. Don't worry. I brought everything you prepared for Junichi and I checked the house twice before I left. You and dad have fun in Hawaii, ok?" He then hang up the phone and mumbled to himself.

"Geez, I'm already a college freshman and I'm traveling to see Junichi like every other month. She has to stop worrying so much."

As the train approached the destination, he got off with his backpack and a small suitcase filled with homemade food his mom prepared for his little brother. He walked to Junichi's apartment and rang the door bell several times, but got no answer.

"Junichi, Are you home? Junichi? I'm coming in." He got a key from his pocket and unlocked the door.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw an unfamiliar set of eyes. He went back a few steps and yelled "Who are you?"

He saw a man in military uniform, holding a sword. He reached for a pocket knife in his backpack and put it up, preparing to defend himself.

"Already prepared to fight, even in your human form. I'd expect nothing less from you, Kunzite." the man held the sword out and pointed it at the silver-haired guy.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"I've missed my chance with your brother, but that's ok. You will be more useful than he is anyway." Ferdinand said.

"What did you do to my brother?"

"Relax! I didn't do anything." Ferdinand responded.

"Then what do you want?"

"You." Ferdinand said coldly.

—

Minako was wandering aimlessly through the city with Artemis following not far behind. She finally stopped at an empty playground in the park. She sat on a swing looking worried. Artemis followed along and sat in front of her.

"How am I supposed to find Kunzite when I have no clue where he is?" Minako sighed.

"Minako" Artemis noticed the troubled look on his partner's face.

"Ami, Rei and Mako-chan know exactly where to find their shitennou. But I don't. And I'm supposed to be the leader!"

"Don't be mad at yourself. It's not your fault that you don't know where Kunzite is." Artemis said.

"Maybe it is. Maybe our bond is not strong enough to go through all this. Maybe I have destroyed any chance left for us. Or maybe he doesn't want to find me." Minako was tearing up.

"Minako, you know I don't really like Kunzite. He made you cry more times than I could count and I hate him for that. But he also made you smile and laugh like you are the happiest girl in the solar system. So I'm gonna say this. I don't know if you should be back with Kunzite, but you are Sailor Venus, the senshi of love. You can't help others find love if you don't believe in yours." Artemis said.

Minako smiled a little and stood up.

"You are right, Artemis. I just have to have faith in our bond. We'll find each other somehow." Minako said to Artemis. Her smile made Artemis smile with relief.

Suddenly Minako felt a strong premonition. She ran out of the park quickly with Artemis following behind.

"Minako where are you going?"

"I don't know. I just feel that he might be around here." Minako answered while kept running, following her intuition.

She stopped in front of Junichi's apartment building and ran up to his room.

She ran past the opened door and was shocked to see Ferdinand and Kunzite. Minako immediately transformed into Sailor Venus. Ferdinand felt Venus's presence and turned to talk to her.

"Venus, you are too late, as usual." Ferdinand said

"Kunzite, get rid of her." Ferdinand commanded.

Kunzite, in his full uniform, holding his sword turned to Venus.

That was the look she saw, not when he was her charming and gallant Kunzite, but Dark Kingdom's cold and cruel Kunzite. He was running toward her with his sword.

"Venus love me chain." Venus used her chain to try taking the sword from Kunzite, but before her chain reached his sword, he grabbed her chain and used it to pull her toward him.

Once Venus was close enough, he grabbed her back and pulled her to him. With their faces a few inches apart, Kunzite gave Venus an evil look that gave a chill down her spine. He held up his sword and pointed it to Venus's neck.

Artemis, following behind, saw Kunzite and jumped to bite his hand. He jerked back and flung Artemis across the room.

"Everyone, come here quick! Kunzite is here and Venus is in trouble." Artemis talked to Luna through the communicator.

Luna said "everyone transform and go. I'll stay here with Zoicite and I'll tell Mamoru and Jadeite to follow you as soon as they finish with the awakening process."

Sailor Moon, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter rushed over to Junichi's apartment. They saw Venus struggling to get free from Kunzite, while he held his sword aiming at her throat.

"Moon tiara action."

The attack made Kunzite lose his balance. Venus was able to get free from his hold. Kunzite prepared to attack again, when suddenly he had a terrible headache that made him drop his sword and collapsed on the floor.

"What am I doing?" The pain was so great that he used both hands to hold his head and close his eyes shut.

"Looks like you are not ready for this." Ferdinand said while forcing the sword back to Kunzite's hand.

As soon as his hand touched the sword, he had a black aura surrounded him. Then he stood up with his sword, and his evil eyes staring at Venus once again. Ferdinand and Kunzite then disappeared into the sky.

"No Kunzite, No!" Venus screamed.

Tuxedo mask and Junichi had just arrived at the apartment, looking stunned at what happened.

Mars started to notice her surrounding and said. "Wait, this is Junichi's apartment. Why were Ferdinand and Kunzite here?"

Mercury saw a broken picture frame on the floor. In it is a picture of Junichi and a tall silver-haired man.

"This is Kunzite. Do you know him?" Mercury turned to ask Junichi who was out of breath from running here.

"That's my brother, Ken." Junichi answered.

—

AN. Yeah! Kunzite appeared. It took longer than I had originally planned, but he's finally here. This is my first time writing fanfic, so I really appreciate reviews and comments. You can also PM me. Love to hear what you guys think.


	19. Reliving the past

Chapter 19: Reliving the past

Back at Mamoru's apartment, everyone was back in their civilian forms and regrouped to catch up on what had happened.

"So let me get this straight. You're saying that Junichi's brother is Kunzite?" Luna asked Artemis while tending his wounds.

"We didn't know he was Junichi's brother until Rei got there." Artemis explained.

Ami was taking care of Minako's injuries, while Minako had a sad empty look in her eyes.

"I couldn't save him, again." Minako eyes' filled with tears.

"It's not your fault, Minako. You did the best you could." Usagi consoled her shaken friend.

"The question is what we should do next now that two of the shitennou were captured." Rei said.

"I'm still processing everything. So forgive me for my words, but what the hell is going on? It's too much for me to wrap my head around in a single day. This morning I was a normal middle school boy, now I'm a general for prince of Earth, whom I had betrayed twice. And now my brother, who was also a general was taken by our archenemy." Junichi said so loudly almost like yelling.

"Calm down, Junichi." Zac said.

"Calm down? How can I be calm when my life has turned upside down and the day still isn't over." Junichi said.

"I think you two are still shocked and tired from recalling past memories. There is no real emergency right now. We lost 2 generals and we don't know where they are. There's nothing we can do except waiting for Ferdinand to show up again. And I think you three need to talk." Ami said and cast a look at Zac, Junichi and Mamoru.

"She's right. We'll let you guys talk and we'll meet back here tomorrow morning."

"Your apartment isn't in a shape to be stayed at right now, Junichi, so I suggest you stay with me. Zac, you just got here from Germany, so I assume you don't have a place to stay yet. You two can stay with me until things settle down." Mamoru said.

"That's a great idea, Mamo-chan. We'll let you catch up and we will see you tomorrow." Usagi said while slightly led her tired friends out of the apartment.

As soon as the girl left, Zac and Junichi went down on one knees and bowed to Mamoru.

"I'm sorry for everything, Endymion." Zac said, still looking down at the ground.

"I don't think an apology is sufficient to atone for my mistakes, but I don't have anything else to offer you but my life." Junichi said.

"You two get up. I'm not prince Endymion anymore. I'm just glad to have my brothers back." Mamoru said while gestured for the two to get up.

"So how much do you remember?" Mamoru asked.

"A little bit of everything. I remembered the day we swore to be your generals, our time in Middle Kingdom, your meeting with the princess, the senshi." Junichi paused for a second, then resumed. "The last day on the moon." Junishi said, feeling guilty for his betrayal towards people whom he loved the most.

"It's weird that we remember our time in the Middle Kingdom, but I don't remember much fighting against you in this life time. I remembered seeing you in the Dark Kingdom when you were captured by Beryl. But I don't remember much about other things in between. It's all like a blur to me." Zac explained.

"Do you remember Ferdinand?" Mamoru asked.

"How can I forget?" Zac answered, while Junichi gave a small nod.

—

_Flashback_

At the Middle Kingdom palace, the king was waiting in front of the queen's chamber.

"Congratulations, your majesty. The prince was born, safe and sound." the midwife opened the door and led the king to the queen's chamber. The queen held the prince in her arms. The king sat down on the bed, then the queen handed the prince to him.

"Welcome to Earth, Endymion." the King said while looking fondly at the newborn prince.

In another quarter of the palace, another boy was born, but sadly his mother didn't survive.

Later that night the King was working at his study. He called the midwife to see him.

"So how are they?" the king asked.

"It's a healthy boy, your majesty, but she didn't survive the labor." the midwife answered sadly.

"So it's a boy." the king muttered to himself and sighed. He knew right then that he had a huge decision to make. He lost in his thoughts for a moment and then commanded.

"Tell others that they both didn't survive the labor."

"But your majesty, what about the boy?" the midwife asked.

"You found the boy left alone outside the castle ground. You took him in and I was kind enough to let you raise him in a servant quarter." the king said.

The midwife was hesitant before she said "As you please, your majesty."

The king had been on the throne for over 10 years without an heir. Pressure from people forced him to do anything necessary to conceive a child. The king knew that even if the queen had known that he had another child, she would have been fine with it, but her family might not be. The queen came from the most respected noble house in the kingdom. Of course, they would want their offspring to be the future king. He felt that it was probably better to tell the rest of the world that he only had one child, and it was Endymion.

Endymion was named the crown prince, while the other boy, Ferdinand was raised as the midwife's son. They both got close to each other at a young age. They would play together and as they got older, they trained combat together. Ferdinand was looking up to Endymion, not only as his prince, but also his brother. And Endymion accepted Ferdinand like his little brother as well. Ferdinand was set to train to become the best knight of the kingdom, to fight alongside Endymion. That was all he wanted to do.

Right around the time they turned 12, things started to change. At that time, the king of Middle Kingdom, together with four kings from the East, South, West and Far West Kingdoms, went to defeat the barbaric clan that had grown strong and caused harms to the citizens of the five kingdoms. The kings working together had spurred the idea of uniting the kingdoms. Since the Middle Kingdom was the only one that can control magic forces and had the largest army and lands, it was considered the strongest of the five. After a considerable amount of discussions among five kingdoms, they agreed to be united under Middle Kingdom, while the other four kingdoms remains independent and govern their own people, but they agree to unite forces against outside threats. All the kings from the four kingdoms agreed to send their crown princes to be trained in combat and magic in the Middle Kingdom, while the princes would act as generals to prince Endymion.

Prince Zachary from the West and Prince Jaden from the East were the youngest. At the age of seven, they bravely left their kingdoms as crown princes to take on the highest duty of protecting the prince of the Middle Kingdom

Prince Nathan from the Far West was at the same age as Prince Endymion. He was starting to become a fine fighter in his kingdom already. He was eager to come to the Middle Kingdom and train more.

Prince Keith from the South was the oldest. As an eleven-year-old, he sure didn't look like one. The harsh conditions of living in the deserts had forced him to grow up quickly, and with the king fallen ill, Prince Keith had no choice but to help his father rule the kingdom. He was the brightest hope for people of the South Kingdom.

They weren't named shitennou right away. They had to prove themselves worthy to suit the task. They were trained by the best fighters in all of the kingdoms. They learned to use every kind of weapons. Even though they all could use all the weapons skillfully, soon they had found themselves specifically intrigued by particular weapons. Zachary was the best archer. His analytic skills of the targets and surroundings, coupled with steady arms, made him the best archer with him hitting targets bull's eyes every single time. Prince Jaden was particularly great at a kris, a small dagger with a wavy blade originated from his homeland. He could kill a tiger with one stab of his kris. Prince Nathan was the most skilled at hand-to-hand combat, but he was also skilled at using a staff, about five-meter long as a weapon to fend off enemies. Prince Keith was an expert swordsman since his day in the South Kingdom, and he continued to perfect his sword fight techniques until there were no other men that could hold a sword fight against him, except Endymion.

—

Eight years later when Endymion turned 18, the king summoned Endymion and the four princes.

"Now you are all ready to become shitennou. Please swear your loyalty to Endymion and I shall bestow upon you your magic abilities suited for your duties" the king said.

After the four princes swore their allegiances to Endymion. The king came forth with four stones in his hands.

"These four stones shall be your personal magic source. They will grant you the power to wield magic abilities. The stone will fit your unique strengths and personalities."

"Jaden, you will be granted a gift of fire. Jadeite shall be your name from now on."

"Zachary, you will be granted a gift of water, and Zoicite shall be your name."

"Nathan, you will be granted a gift of wind and sky. Nephrite shall be your name."

"Keith, you will be granted a gift of metal, and Kunzite shall be your name from now on."

The king gestured for shitennou to rise up. He then walked over to the central room of the palace and place four stones on one of the pedestals. This room housed the king, queen and prince's crystals and now it also housed shitennou's stones as well.

_End of flashback_

—

"Ferdinand was the greatest knight of Middle Kingdom, and he was a really good friend to all of us. I don't understand why he's attacking us right now." Zac said.

"I remember toward the End that we drifted apart quite a bit because he didn't like the fact that we got too close to Lunarians." Junichi said.

"I remember seeing him on the moon. With you guys, and Beryl." Mamoru said.

"I'm sorry about that." Zac said.

"I didn't bring it up to get an apology out of you. What's done is done. What I don't get is why Ferdinand was with Beryl. Did they plan this together from the beginning? Was she just controlling him like she was doing to you? If yes, then why wasn't he get resurrected when you did with the Dark Kingdom? Why is he here now?" Mamoru voiced his concern.

"I don't think we can know for sure until we see him again. Did he say anything about what he wants to accomplish?" Zac asked.

"When I first met him, he said something about rescuing Earth from Lunarians, even if it means my death, he would do it." Mamoru explained.

"So he wants to kill you?" Junichi asked.

"From what I hear, he probably wants to get rid of the princess and senshi more than anything, but if you stand in his way, he would not be reluctant to kill you as well." Zac speculated.

"What about us? Why do you think he tried to take us?" Junichi asked.

"It's possible that he wants us to help him kill the princess and senshi. After all, we had helped him and Beryl did that before." Zac said, feeling ashamed of his past actions.

"Did you remember him during the last battle on the moon?"Mamoru asked.

"Unfortunately, I don't remember much about that day. I remember seeing you, the princess and the senshi, but I don't really recall anything else. My memory of that day is kind of fragmented." Zac said.

"That's the most we can guess right now. We should talk more tomorrow and plan our next moves with the girls." Mamoru said.

—

"I don't want to go home alone. Can I crash at your place, Mako-chan?" Minako asked.

"Sure. But what about Artemis?" Makoto asked.

"He's wounded pretty seriously. I want him to stay with Luna. He will feel better that way, plus I am in no condition to take care of him." Minako said.

"I get that. Nephrite and Kunzite were taken. You and I are the ones that feel the most shaken by this. Honestly I don't know what to do anymore." Makoto said and sighed.

"I know we are supposed to get rest and prepare for tomorrow, but how can I, when all I can see is Kunzite being taken right before my eyes? It was like, it was like, that day at the Dark Kingdom all over again." Minako sobbed.

Makoto hugged her friend and tears rolled down her cheeks as well.

"I know." Makoto gently stroked her friend's back. It was rare to see her leader senshi feeling vulnerable. She's usually upbeat and cheerful. In the battle, no matter how gravely the situation was, she was always calm and focused. But now her leader needed a friend as much as anyone else.

Putting up a tough front was nothing new for her either. She always felt she had to be strong for herself and for those she loved. It was unusual for her to show weakness in front of others. But now she felt like crumbling with Minako. Both of them were typically strong, but when the destiny seemed to take the men they loved from them for the third time, it could be unbearable.

Back at Makoto's apartment, she warmed up some cookies she had baked days before, and put them on a plate together with rose tea. Minako came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her head.

"Here, Minako. You'll feel better." Makoto handed her friend a cup of tea.

"Thank you, Mako-chan. I'm sorry to impose on you. Now that I have time to think about it. Do you maybe want to be alone tonight?" Minako asked.

Makoto shook her head. "No Minako. It's good that you came, otherwise, I'd be crying all night long."

"That's what I would have done if I were alone tonight." Minako said while sipping her tea.

"I'm gonna take a shower. Help yourself to the cookies. You'll feel better." Makoto suggested.

"I always feel better after eating your food, Mako-chan." Minako smiled and put a cookie in her mouth.

As soon as Makoto disappeared into the bathroom, Minako expression became gloomy.

"Kunzite. Why can't we get it right? How many lifetimes do we need before we get our happy ending?"

—

_Flashback_

"Do you love me, Kunzite?" Venus asked. But Kunzite remained silent.

"It's a yes-or-no question, Kunzite. It's not difficult to answer. Yes or no!" Venus said sternly, but Kunzite continued to stay silent and averted her gaze.

"I'm tired of playing this game with you. I love you and I know you love me. Why can't you just admit it? Everything you've done shows that you love me and care for me. What's on Venus is your problem?" Venus asked in a loud voice.

"Venus, I love you, but you know as well as I do that there is no happy ending for us, and there never will be." Kunzite said while looking deep into Venus's eyes.

"So you are giving up without even putting up a fight. That's not like you!" Venus asked.

"I've fought, Venus. You know I did." Kunzite said.

"Serenity and Endymion's love is also forbidden. You don't see them giving up, do you?" Venus asked.

"They are prince and princess, Venus. We are not." Kunzite said.

"No, they are a man and a woman in love, and so are we!" Venus said.

"Venus, it's because I love you that I have to give up on you." Kunzite said.

"You are not making any sense." Venus said.

"I love you so much that I don't want you to get hurt. I know things will never work out between us. We'll never be able to be together. I'd rather you hurt a little right now than you hurt a lot in the future. You can find someone who can gives you the happiness you deserve." Kunzite exlained.

"That's not love, Kunzite. That's an arrangement. I don't want someone to provide for me and to give me security. I don't need someone to make me happy. I want to live and love, Kunzite! To love is to be alive. And to be alive involves getting hurt as well as being happy, and I am prepared for both!" Venus said.

"I don't see how we can make this work, Venus." Kunzite admitted.

"I don't know how to make this work, either. But I'm not giving up!" Venus said.

Kunzite sighed.

"You are so invincible in the battle fields, but you are so vulnerable in love, my dear." Venus said.

"That's why I need you." Kunzite said while holding Venus in his arms.

"I know." Venus leaned into his embrace.

"Look, I don't want to force you into anything. The battle with Beryl and the resistance is coming up soon. I just need to know if you want to be with me after everything ends. I want to know if you will wait for me because I will wait for you." Venus said.

"But how will we be together?" Kunzite asked, but Venus put her index finger on his lips.

"Don't think about it. We make it one day at a time. Will you look for me when everything settles" Venus asked softly.

Kunzite looked into Venus's eyes and said "I will come back to you, my Aphrodite."

—

On the last day on the moon.

Venus was facing Kunzite. The Kunzite that she's never known. Her Kunzite was kind and considerate. Her Kunzite looked tough and stoic on the surface, but he showed the real him only to her. Kunzite in front of her is cold, cruel and didn't care about anyone. She knew it wasn't the real him, but it was so hard. She longed to see the loving gleam in his eyes again.

Kunzite was charging and running toward her with his sword. She knew well that his sword is deadly, but then again so is hers. Venus managed to evade his first sword attack. He might be strong and fast, but she was more agile. It was not difficult to evade his attack, they had had countless sparring matches after all.

_Kunzite, please be yourself again. I don't want to fight you. _Venus thought while dodging his countless attacks. But Kunzite showed no sign of slowing down. His attacks became more aggressive as the time went on. Venus started to feel tired. She knew that she couldn't fight on defensive forever. She had to do something. But her heart told her not to attack the man she loved, or to be accurate, the body of the man she loved.

"Kunzite, tell me! Before you left, what were your last words to me?" Venus was trying to talk to him while evading his sword.

"Please Kunzite! Look at me! Tell me! What did you say to me?" Venus yelled, while using her sword to fend off his attack.

_This isn't him. He is the man of his words. He would have remembered what he promised me. Then who is this monster in front of me?_ Venus thought.

Kunzite cornered Venus into a part of the front of the palace. Pillars stood behind her. She had no where else to run. She had to face him.

"Prepare to die!" Kunzite yelled while aiming his sword at her.

Venus used her chain to grab the pillar, then stepped on the wall to jump away from his sword. She then came back hovering over him. Then she stabbed her sword into his chest. Kunzite fell into her embrace. She held him and like the way she had hold him thousand times before. She loved him, but this was the end. She knew that he was only injured at this point and she only had a few seconds to take away his last breath.

"I will wait for you, Kunzite. I always will." She whispered, then forced her sword deeper into his chest as tears streaming down her cheeks.

_End of flashback_

—

AN. This chapter is a little longer than usual. I'm trying to put up longer chapters now, although it may take longer to update each chapter. So please bear with me. I also know that I am so bad at writing fighting scenes, but I don't want the story to get stuck just because I can't figure out how to write fighting scenes (yet). I may come back later and rewrite them. For now, if you don't like fighting scenes, skip ahead. Also if you have some suggestions on how to write fighting scenes, please let me know.

As usual, reviews and comments are highly appreciated. Suggestions are welcome as well. Which couples do you like to see more of? Do you like SilMil scenes or the present-day scenes better? Just drop me a line or two. ^_^


	20. Preparation

Chapter 20: Preparation

Mamoru woke up at 6 AM. It was no big deal. He was usually up early anyway, but today he was a little surprised to see his little 'brother' woke up first.

"Morning Junichi. You're up early." Mamoru greeted the blonde.

"Morning, master." Junichi said.

"Stop calling me that! I've told you many times. And did you even get some sleep last night? If I remember correctly, you were not much of an early riser." Mamoru said.

"I did get some sleep, but I woke up a little early and I couldn't get back to sleep. So might as well be up. You want some coffee?" Junichi said as handing out a coffee that he was making.

"See you are already familiar with my kitchen." Mamoru grinned.

"Sorry I took the liberty of using your kitchen. I know you won't mind anyway." Junichi said playfully.

"Talking about the kitchen, the girls will come around 9, I think. I have to make sure I have enough breakfast for them." Mamoru said while walking to the fridge.

"They are five slender teenagers. How much can they eat?" Junichi snorted.

"You'd be surprised." Mamoru laughed.

"Seems like I don't have a lot left. You wanna run to the supermarket with me? I could use a hand carry groceries." Mamoru asked.

"I'm a little offended that you had to ask that. I'm here whenever you need me, master. Sorry, Mamoru." Junichi replied.

"Then let's go." Mamoru left Zac a quick note and then walked out the door with Junichi.

—

Ami and Rei came to the apartment at 9 AM sharp, no surprise there. What's surprise Mamoru, however, is that Makoto hadn't shown up yet. Whenever they had meetings at his apartment, Makoto always came early to cook something for the group. Maybe last night was too much for Makoto to be her usual self.

"Usagi's not here yet?" Ami asked Mamoru as she walked into the apartment with Rei.

"If she's here, that means the end of the world. We all know well she won't show up until like 9.30 or 10." Rei said.

"Come on! She's getting better at that. I think she will be here soon. She just texted me that she's left her house already." Mamoru said.

Ami and Rei saw Zac and Junichi in the living room. Zac was reading a newspaper while sipping his black coffee. Junichi was flipping through various TV channels, hoping to find something to take his mind of things, even for just a little bit.

Mamoru broke the silence "Hey guys, Ami and Rei are here."

"Morning." Zac and Junichi greeted the two girls.

"Morning." Rei said without looking at Junichi, while Ami gave a shy nod.

The tension in the room was so thick that he could probably cut it with a knife. He wished his Usako was here. She was a lot better at breaking the ice than he was. Having the two most quiet senshi with him and his two newly-awaken 'brothers' did very little to help ease the situation.

"Ami, Rei, why don't you sit down and I will get you some coffee?" Mamoru said while gestured the girls to sit on the couch.

"Let me help you." Junichi said and got up from his seat in front of the television.

A little while later, Junichi walked to the girls with two mugs in his hands. He handed the first one to Ami, then the next one to Rei.

"I remember you like green tea, so I got you that instead of coffee. Hope it's ok." Junichi said.

"Don't go making decision for me. You could have asked me what I wanted." Rei said angrily, while thinking about when she had revealed to him that she'd prefer tea over coffee. Nothing came to her mind.

"You're right. Sorry. I should have asked. Would you like a coffee instead? I can go get it." Junichi said.

"No, it's fine." Rei took the mug from his hand, a bit unwillingly.

"How do you know I like green tea?" Rei asked Junichi.

"Actually, I don't know. I just … remember it." Junichi said, also feeling surprised at himself. He looked at Rei, but she avoided his gaze by sipping a tea from the mug in her hands. It was this little things that remind her that he knows her more than she's like to admit. And it starts to get annoying!

—

Fifteen minutes later Makoto, Minako and Usagi joined them, followed by Luna and Artemis.

"Sorry we are a little late. We stopped to pick up some pastries on the way here." Makoto explained as she moved to the kitchen and put a variety of pastries on the kitchen table, and prepared to make some omelettes.

"Can I use eggs here, Mamoru? I'll make breakfast for everyone." Makoto asked. Knowing the answer 's always yes, she proceeded to take eggs out of the fridge.

"Sure, Makoto." for the first few times the girls hung out at Mamoru's, he didn't really want to let her cook. He was the host, he was supposed to prepare food, right? But now he knew too well that cooking was how Makoto dealt with stress, and after what happened yesterday, he wouldn't deny her anything that would make the brunette feel better.

A moment later, the kitchen table was laid with ginormous amount of food, which surprised Zac and Junichi.

"Are you cooking for the whole army, Makoto?" Junichi asked.

"You asked that because you don't know how much Usagi can eat." Rei said.

"And technically we are an army, right? We fight bad guys, so it's ok." Usagi said while running to grab Makoto's delicious-looking breakfast. Mamoru shook his head and grinned.

Everyone took the food onto their plates, then sat around the coffee table. Nobody said anything for five minutes. It's Usagi to the rescue.

"So how's everybody slept?" Usagi spoke whatever first came to her mind. It usually worked, but as soon as she said it, she realized that nobody's probably gotten a good night sleep.

"Just fine." Minako said.

"So should we begin?" Luna stepped in to start the meeting.

"I guess so." Usagi said.

"What should we talk about first? There are so many things right now." Minako asked.

"I think the first order of business should be how Zac and Junici are feeling. How's it to get your memories back?" Minako asked.

"It's overwhelming, but I'm fine now." Zac answered.

"What do you remember?" Ami asked.

"It's not a coherent recollection, I'm afraid. It's just bits and pieces from the past, I mean in Silver Millennium, and a little bit during the Dark Kingdom." Zac answered.

"You mean you remember more about Silver Millennium than Dark Kingdom?" Ami asked.

Zac nodded.

"That's weird because Dark Kingdom was actually more recent than Silver Millennium." Makoto said.

"Actually that would explain a lot. If you two were brainwashed during Dark Kingdom, it was no surprise that you wouldn't remember much." Mamoru said.

"Do you still have your abilities?" Artemis asked.

"You mean fighting and magic abilities?" Junichi asked. Artemis nodded.

"That I don't know. We haven't tried." Junichi looked at Zac and answered.

"Maybe you should try now. We need to know what you guys can do, so we can plan how to fight with Ferdinand." Minako said.

"They just got back their memories yesterday. I don't think it's a good idea to have them try fighting so soon." Mamoru voiced his concern.

"That's ok, Endymion. I've been thinking about it, too. We should try." Zac said to the group.

"If I remember correctly, you can control water and Jadeite can control fire, right?" Makoto said.

"I wouldn't say 'control', I would say 'influence' it a little." Junichi said.

"Hmm I don't think lighting someone else's ass on fire counts as just influencing, Jadeite." Mamoru said with a grin.

"Hey, that was one time. And Nephrite really pissed me off. He deserved it." Junichi said, getting small laughs from everyone.

"Anyway, why don't you try it now?" Luna asked.

"I'll go first." Junichi said and stood up.

"Start small, Junichi." Rei said, looking a bit concerned. Junichi looked at Rei and smiled at her concern for him. Rei quickly averted his gaze.

"I'll try lighting the candle then. I remember it was easy to do." Junichi said while taking the candle stick from the cupboard.

Junichi placed his two hands hovering around the end of the candle, trying to concentrate. After a few minutes, nothing happened.

"Damn it. Why can't I do it?" Junichi said angrily.

"Maybe you need to transform first?" Minako asked.

"I don't know how to transform." Junichi answered and everyone was silent until Zac decided to speak.

"We've never needed to transform. During the Silver Millennium, we were shitennou all the time. The same during Dark Kingdom. Honestly, we don't know how to be, um, shitennou again." Zac said.

"What do you mean you don't know how to be shitennou again?" Ami asked curiously.

"Well, I've seen you transform, Ami. It's like you have two identities, right? There's Mizuno Ami, and there's Sailor Mercury. You are switching between two identities. But as long as I can remember, I'm only Zac. I've never been Zoicite, at least for now anyway."

"I don't understand. If you got your memories back, why can't you transform to your shitennou forms?" Mamoru said.

"Does that mean you don't have any power? Just got your memories back?" Artemis asked.

Rei was sensing that Junichi and Zac were starting to feel guilty so she said "maybe you just need more practice."

"Let me try." Zac said. "What should I try?" Zac mumbled to himself.

"Try freezing the water. That's one of the easiest." Ami suggested.

"Right." Zac poured a glass of water and put it on the coffee table. He tried to channel his energy through his hands to the water. After a moment, the glass's starting to get a fog on the outside, which meant the water was getting colder, but it was nowhere near freezing.

"That's the best I can do." Zac admitted and put his hands down. The water immediately turned tepid.

"Well, at least we know you can do something. Just have to practice, I guess." Ami said, calculating things in her head.

"Can you use your power without transforming?" Zac asked.

"We can't form a full-blown attack in our civilian forms, but we can do small things like this." Makoto said while sending a small electric shock to Junichi's elbow. He jerked away from Makoto. "Ouch!"

"Sorry, he asked what we can do." Makoto said nonchalantly.

"He didn't say show us." Junichi said while rubbing his elbow.

"Showing is better than explaining." Makoto gave a half shrug.

"I think we can conclude that Zac and Junichi don't have any power yet and they can't transform. So we can't count on them for fighting. Let's move on to the plan if Ferdinand attacks." Luna said.

"You don't have to sound so condescending, Luna." Zac said.

"She didn't say anything wrong." Artemis said.

"It's not wrong, but you didn't have to make us feel like we are useless." Zac said.

"You are useless!" Luna said. Zac was getting angrier and angrier.

"Stop right there." Mamoru placed his hands between Luna and Zac.

"Luna, yes, Zac and Junichi can't fight right now, but if we give them time, maybe we can help us. And Zac, Luna is right. At the moment we can't count on you and Junichi. We have to make plan to protect you both from Ferdinand." Mamoru said.

"Damn it! We're supposed to protect you, Endymion, not the other way around." Zac put his fist heavily on the table.

"If we want to win, we can't risk losing you two to Ferdinand." Ami said, looking concerned.

"Moving on. What do we do when Ferdinand attacks again?" Artemis asked.

"I'm not sure what his next move is. His goal is to get rid of the princess and senshi, but he might try to take you two again before he does that." Mamoru pondered.

"Right now it's 8 against 3. They don't really have much of a chance." Junichi said.

"Well, technically it's 6 against 3 since you two can't fight." Luna pointed out.

"Fine. 6 against 3." Zac was tired of arguing.

"So it's possible that he would try to take Zac and Junichi to his side because he attempts to kill us." Minako said.

"But we can't let you protect us. I mean, if his goal is indeed to kill you and the princess, he will just do it when he has a chance. Doesn't matter if he gets me and Zac or not." Junichi said.

"He's right. We have to do two things simultaneously. Preventing Ferdinand from taking Zac and Junichi and protecting Usagi." Rei said.

"I don't like being on the defensive." Makoto said. "It makes me anxious."

Minako placed her hand on her tall Brunette friend's shoulder "It'll be fine, Mako-chan. That's the best we can do before we can find out more about Ferdinand."

"Speaking of Ferdinand, I ran a search on the moon database about Middle Kingdom last night. He showed up as a high-ranked knight. You guys must have known him back then." Ami asked.

"Yeah, we did. He practically grew up with me, and later the shitennou as well." Mamoru said.

"Then why did he attack us?" Minako asked.

"He's convinced that associations with Lunarians will bring doom to Earth." Zac said.

"So he basically just want to get rid of us." Rei said to the girls.

"But he also made it clear that if I stand in his way, he will kill me as well." Mamoru said.

"Just like what happened on the last day on the moon." Minako sighed.

"History is repeating itself." Luna said.

"No, we won't let it happen. We'll find a way to defeat him. We always do." Usagi said with determination.

"Is there anything you remember about Ferdinand that might be useful?" Ami asked.

"Let see. We sparred with him many times in training. We kind of know what's his weaknesses are." Junichi said.

"Which also means that he knows our weaknesses." Zac said.

"Well, you two are not doing the fighting. So that shouldn't be the problem. Just tell us what his weaknesses are and we'll defeat him." Makoto said while punching her right fist into her left palm.

"It's not that simple, Makoto. He's good with sword, but not as good as Kunzite and I. We are the only two people who can take him down. And that's not even an easy task for either of us." Mamoru said.

"Jadeite and Nephrite teamed up once and defeated him in a sword fight, but it was barely. And that's two against one!" Zac said.

"If he's so powerful, why wasn't he one of the shitennou?" Artemis asked. The rest of the room remained silent.

"There's more to shitennou than fighting skills, Artemis." Mamoru said.

"Are you saying that the shitennou weren't the most skillful fighters in Middle Kingdom?" Artemis asked.

"Of course, not! Each shitennou is skilled at fighting, but everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, Artemis. Nobody is all powerful." Mamoru said.

"My specialty is, I mean, was, bow and arrows. His was kris." Zac said while pointing at Junichi. I'm sure you'd say the same thing about the senshi. Everyone is powerful, but it's not like you can win one-on-one in any match." Zac said.

"That's a bit insulting, but it's right. We are the strongest when we are together." Minako said.

"So if Ferdinand is so skilled at fighting, what are his weaknesses then?" Makoto asked.

"He can't use magic." Zac said.

"Well, that's easy then. We can just launch our attacks on him, and he won't be able to counter." Makoto said.

"No, he can still fight against magic or your planet attacks, but he can't initiate anything himself. He can deflect your attacks back to you, though That's dangerous. So you can't just launch all your attacks on him. They will get back to you." Junichi said.

"So you're saying we can't win against him?" Makoto asked.

"No, of course, not. We just have to think of a way." Mamoru pondered.

"Lay off him, ok? This is hard. We'd never planned to attack one of our owns before." Junichi said.

"Well, that's just not true." Rei said to Junichi.

Junichi paused and lowered his eyes. "I mean, Endymion never did."

"That's ok, guys." Mamoru placed his hand on Junichi's shoulder. "We should focus on the present." Junchi gave a small nod to Mamoru, admiring his prince's ability to forgive his sins so easily.

"Well, at least we know now that Ferdinand can't use magic, but we still need to come up with a plan to defeat him." Ami concluded.

"And we don't know where he is or when he will attack, so we need to be on guard 24/7." Rei added.

"That's all we can do right now. It's also important that any of you will not go anywhere by yourself. How about Ami and Rei stay together? And Minako and Makoto together? Usagi and Mamoru can be together during the day, and I will keep an eye on her at night. And you two?" Luna kept thinking while pointing at Junichi and Zac.

"They will be with me." Mamoru said.

"Alright. That's settled then. Mamoru, Junichi and Zac, can you keep thinking about how to attack Ferdinand? You three know him the best." Luna asked.

"Of course." Mamoru answered while Zac and Junichi gave the feline a nod.

Before everyone left, Makoto and Minako were looking at each other, thinking of something they apparently had ignored to discuss.

_What about Kunzite and Nephrite? _

—

"Hi Makoto, Minako. Hope we didn't keep you two waiting long." Mamoru said while taking a seat at the table the girls were sitting.

"Blame him. This one decided that he had to blow dry his hair and styled it perfectly before leaving the house." Junichi pointed his thumb to Zac.

"Hey! If you had gorgeous curly hair like mine, you'd know you need to take care of it real good. Otherwise, it'll just go everywhere." Zac said.

"I have curly hair too. You don't see my taking an hour doing my hair, right? You're just high maintenance!" Junichi said. Zac elbowed him in response to the comment.

"Ouch! Stop it." Junichi yelled.

Watching the interactions between the guys, Makoto and Minako couldn't help but giggled.

"Certainly seem like you two are getting along." Minako said with a grin.

"I was getting along with him fine before I remember him as Zoicite. You were better as Zac, dude." Junichi said and turned to look at Zac.

"Don't take your leftover feelings towards me from the past to this lifetime. You like hanging out with me when I was here before. Admit it!" Zac said.

"Well, what I see is a loving bond between long-lost brothers." Makoto smiled.

"Let's get back to you two. Why do you want to meet us here? I'm pretty sure it's not to hear these two bickering, right?" Mamoru asked.

Makoto and Minako looked at each other.

"It's about Nephrite and Kunzite, isn't it?" Mamoru asked. The girls nodded.

"I was surprised we didn't talk about it this morning. I was scared to talk about it, but never would have thought that no one asked about it." Zac said.

"I'm not surprised that Usagi, Ami and Rei didn't talk about it. They probably worried about your feelings, but I thought Luna or Artemis would bring it up for sure." Mamoru said.

"Knowing Artemis, he probably thinks that Makoto and I should make peace with it first, before we discuss anything. He knew that bringing them up right away would mean us protesting to fight against them." Minako said.

"Is that how you feel?" Mamoru asked.

Minako remained silent, lost in her thoughts.

"I don't know Mamoru. That's why we want to talk to you." Minako answered.

"I don't know how to say this in front of everyone, but I don't want to fight against Kunzite again. It's simply … too much." Minako said.

"And I don't want to fight Nephrite either. " Makoto said.

Minako continued. "But our duty is to protect Serenity. We know that's the most important thing and we will not fail at this task. But fighting two times against the man I … loved, got me thinking that maybe there are other ways to end this."

"There must be another way! I can't…fight him again." Makoto said, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

"I understand that. As much as I want to protect Usagi, I also believe there must be a way to help Kunzite and Nephrite and save the world at the same time." Mamoru said.

"That's really optimistic, Mamoru." Zac commented.

"Well, Usagi taught me that. Countless times she was forced to choose between her loved ones and saving the world, but she never gives up. She never wants to sacrifice anyone. She believes wholeheartedly that everyone can have their happy endings. And she has shown that the power of her faith can conquer anything." Mamoru said.

"Ideally, we want to rescue Kunzite and Nephrite and then defeat Ferdinand. But what if the situations aren't ideal. We are warriors, Mamoru. And we know full well that there has to be some sacrifices." Minako said.

"We've been fighting alongside Usagi for a long time. We feel responsible for her safety, and nothing will make us abandon that mission." Makoto said, but this sentence seemed to make Junichi and Zac think of their betrayal towards their prince.

"But then when I saw Nate being taken by Ferdinand. It was like …." Makoto, who was usually strong and tough, had tears rolling down her cheeks. She paused to grasp for air, then continued. "It was like the last day on the moon and the last day at Dark Kingdom all over again. He was there, and then he was ripped away from my life." Makoto said with a shaken voice.

Everyone remained silent.

"Honestly, I don't know what to do anymore. Even if I can help him, how long our reunion will last? It seems like happiness is always eluding me." Makoto said with a blank stare into the distance.

Minako looked at her fellow senshi, and decided to say to the guys. "That's why we want to ask for your opinions. Yes, the guys were our loves, in the past, but they were also your generals and your friend. One of them is also your brother in this lifetime." Minako looked at Junichi and he nodded. "What are you going to do?" Minako asked.

Zac and Junichi looked Mamoru. There was a moment of silence among them as if they were waiting for someone to speak first. Mamoru looked at the two younger guys and said. "I think we can all say that we want to help Kunzite and Nephrite, I mean, Ken and Nate. They are important to us as much as they are to you." Mamoru paused.

"But what if they are going to kill you or Usagi? What will _you_ do?" Makoto asked.

Mamoru looked at Zac and Junichi and said. "I can't speak for everyone, and we haven't really talked about this. But I want to try to help them as much as I can. We are not going to fight them unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Ken will never fight me. He never will." Junichi said with confidence.

Minako looked sadly at Junichi. Of course, he would think that. Junichi never has to fight the one he loves before. He doesn't understand the pain of having own trust's betrayed.

"I'd like to believe you, Junichi, but I have lived enough times to know that it may not be true. In fact, it's more likely that he will fight us than not." Minako said.

"My brother will never do that. He loves me, and he's kind and just." Junichi said.

"So was Kunzite." Minako said.

"What he's saying is we will try our hardest to help Ken and Nate. And we will bring this up with the group later once we have planned how to deal with Ferdinand, Nephrite and Kunzite." Mamoru said but his conclusion didn't seem to ease any worry in the two girls sitting across from him.

"But I think what you need is not _my_ opinion or _our_ opinion on what to do. You have to decide what you want to do. What do you want to happen? I know you said that you want to free Kunzite and Nephrite and of course, that's what we all want. But what we want and what we believe in are two different things. Do you truly believe that you can help Kunzite and Nephrite and manage to save the world at the same time? Or do you believe someone has to sacrifice? Do you believe that they deserve to have normal lives, or do you believe in the opposite? Do you believe that you deserve normal lives with the guys you love?

Minako and Makoto looked at Mamoru as if he was their big brother teaching them philosophy of life.

"Think about it, and talk to Usagi. She's the best person to show you the strength of love." Mamoru got up from his seat and gestured Zac and Junichi to get up as well.

"Thank you, Mamoru." Minako said, while Makoto nodded. Mamoru smiled, gave a small nod, then walked away with Zac and Junichi, leaving the girls lost deep in their own thoughts.

—

AN. Not a lot of actions in this one, but I want to lay the ground work for what will happen next. Hope I didn't bore you too much.

Don't worry about Minako/Kunzite. I like happy endings too, so they will get their sweet moments. They are both leaders, so I think they should have to pass the test of their bonds bigger than others.

Thank you for reviews and comments. You guys are awesome!

_**Luckys girl. **__Thank you for your kind words. I was going to give up on this story, but after reading your review, I think it deserves a good ending. _

_**Hafesha**_**.** _Glad you like it. I promise we will see more of Minako-Kunzite soon._

_**Guest. **__Yes, Minako-Kunzite will get their happy ending. :)_


	21. Fights among brothers

Chapter 21: Fights among brothers

Mamoru, Junichi and Zac was back at Mamoru's apartment.

"That was an intense discussion we had with the girls," Junichi commented.

"The way you talked to them was really insightful, Mamoru," Zac said.

"Well, I have been through that before," Mamoru said, looking out the balcony.

"What do you mean?" Junichi asked.

"Remember when Beryl took me and brainwashed me into working for her?" Mamoru asked, while Junichi and Zac nodded their heads slightly.

"Since then, sometimes I wonder whether I deserve to be with Usagi, whether I deserve to be alive, whether I deserve her love. Sometimes I think that she'd be better off with someone else. Sometimes I think that if I really love her, I should let her go and move on," Mamoru said, still looking out the balcony.

Junichi and Zac remained silent, losing in their own thoughts.

Mamoru said, "But Usagi's heart is so big that she shows me that forgiveness is more powerful than guilt and shame. Yes, I made a mistake. I may deserve to be punished, but if she forgives me, I can forgive myself too. It's better to build a better future with her than dwelling in the past that I couldn't change."

"But I'd have never came to that conclusion if it weren't for Usagi. She forgave me. She believed in me. She believed in us. And she wants me to live for her and for the world. That, in and of itself, is the most powerful force to continue living." Mamoru paused.

"If Kunzite and Nephrite were to be rescued, they need that kind of love and forgiveness, from us. And from the girls." Mamoru said.

Suddenly the flash of black energy appeared in the living room, showing Ferdinand, Kunzite and Nephrite in full-fledge military uniforms. Ferdinand and Kunzite were holding their swords, and Nephrite, a staff.

"We meet again, you highness." Ferdinand said, coldly.

Mamoru, Jun and Zac went into a defensive stance, although they were still in civilian uniforms.

"What do you want, Ferdinand?" Mamoru asked.

"I have come to change your mind, Endymion," Ferdinand said. "You are being led astray by the moon princess, but it's not too late. You can still save Earth."

Mamoru said, "I have no idea what you are talking about, Ferdinand. Usagi — Serenity is a caring and wonderful girl. She has helped saving the world from Beryl and Metallia already. You weren't there. You didn't know that you were tricked into their evil scheme. Wake up to your true self, Ferdinand!"

"Those are the words I should say to you, Endymion," Ferdinand said. "I was determined to protect Earth from the moon, and I still am! Wake up from this romantic dream with your princess, and come back to your duty as the prince of Earth."

"I'm doing my duty as the prince of Earth. I'm protecting the planet and the ones I love." Mamoru said with determination.

"Seems like there's no waking you up. That moon witch has bewitched you. I'm asking you one more time. Are you going to stand in my way?" Ferdiand.

"If your way is to harm the princess, then I'll be in your way." Mamoru said.

"Well said. Now we are on the opposite side, once again, Endymion." Ferdinand said and then turned to Junichi and Zac.

"In Silver Millennium, you were the ones who fell first. How come you are not on my side this time?" Ferdinand asked.

"Because we know the truth. Beryl was using us!" Jun said.

"No, you were bewitched by Mercury and Mars. You think women are more important than brothers and your responsibility. How pathetic for such powerful shitennou to fall under the influence of women like the rest of men." Ferdinand said.

"Maybe your brothers can change your mind. Kunzite, Nephrite. Take Zoicite and Jadiete!" Ferdinand commanded.

"Never!" Mamoru yelled as he transformed into Tuxedo Mask.

Nephrite moved to be close to Zac. He used his staff to knock Zac so that he fell on the ground.

Kunzite moved directly to Junichi. He was aiming his sword at his brother. Junchi, still in his civilian form, tried to dodge the attack. But his lack of weapon and power made him fall. Kunzite grabbed Jun at his collar.

"Ken, don't do this! It's me, Junichi." Junichi yelled while struggling to get free from Kunzite's grip.

"Come with us, Jadeite. Be the man you are meant to be." Kunzite said while still holding his sword in front of him, and presenting Jadeite's kris in front of him.

Nephrite was presenting Zoicite's bow in front of him as well. As Zac and Junichi almost touched the weapons, the attacks came.

"Venus love me chain."

"Supreme thunder." Venus and Jupiter leapt in.

"Don't touch those! They are dripped with dark energy. It's how he controls your mind." Mercury yelled as looking at her compact computer and using her visor to scan the weapons. Mars and Moon followed her into the scene.

Junichi and Zac snapped out of the trance and went back to defensive stance.

"If you are not on our side, then you will not be here at all." Kunzite yelled as he charged his sword to Junichi's throat. For a second there, Junichi looked into Kunzite's eyes, trying to find a glimpse of his loving brother. It made his blood run cold to see his big brother become a completely different person. Junichi knew he didn't have enough time to escape the attack, so he prepared for the effect.

"Fire Soul!" Mars yelled. The attack hit Kunzite's hand in time and knocked his sword's aim out of Junichi's way. Kunzite's grip on Junichi was loosen, Junichi used this time to get free and ran over to Mars.

"Thank you, Mars." Junichi said, trying to get a hold of his feet.

Kunzite's attention turned to Venus. Venus and Mars move to protect Junichi, while Jupiter and Mercury moved to protect Zac. Sailor Moon moved to stay close to Tuxedo Mask.

"How pathetic! You are going to hide behind skirts. Where are your pride, brothers?" Ferdinand said. However, he saw that there was no way he was going to win with all the senshi there. He made a snap decision.

"If you're going to hide, fine. I don't need you, Jadeite and Zoicite. Here's the deal, princess. We'll meet you at D-point at midnight in exactly two weeks from now. We'll settle this once and for all. I know you'll be there." Ferdinand said as he, Kunzite and Nephrite disappeared.

—

After Ferdinand disappeared, the senshi and Tuxedo mask returned back to their civilian forms.

"Mamo-chan, are you ok?" Usagi rushed to Mamoru.

"How did you know they were here?" Mamoru asked.

"I felt you transformed so I called the girls and came here." Usagi said.

"You came just in time, princess." Jun said.

"So what happened before we got here?" Minako asked.

Mamoru explained, "Ferdinand wanted to see if Junichi, Zac and I would join them in destroying you, Usagi. When I said no, he tried to take Junichi and Zac away."

"They almost got us, if Mercury weren't there in time to tell us not to touch the weapons." Zac said.

"From my calculation, Ferdinand doesn't have magic, so he used Metallia's magic instilled in the weapons to control shitennou. That's how he controls Kunzite and Nephrite." Ami explained.

"Ah! That's why Kunzite seemed to come back to his true self for a moment when I knocked the sword out of his hand," Minako said. Ami nodded.

"Why does he want us to meet him at D-point in two weeks?" Makoto said, contemplating various scenarios.

"It will be the time of dark moon, in exactly two weeks. That's when Usagi's power will be the weakest. And I suspect that they want us to meet at D-point because the leftover dark energy from Dark Kingdom will help weaken our power even further." Ami said, looking at her computer.

"It's the perfect trap." Zac said.

"You can't go there, Usagi. Ferdinand wants to kill you." Mamoru said.

"You should know by now that I'm not the one to sit and wait on the sideline." Usagi looked at Mamoru.

"But he has a point though. We can't just risk Usagi." Zac said.

"I think we need a new plan." Mamoru said to everyone.

—

AN. I'm kind of in a writer's block while writing this. So I apologize for the lack of creativity. But I just wrote some ending scenes and I love them so much. Can't wait to get the story there, although that might take a while. I may have skipped over some details about Ferdinand. He is the king and his mistress's son. The king chose to have Ferdinand raised as a normal boy instead of a prince because the king didn't want to cause tensions with the queen and her family. Thank you persian85033 for pointing it out

Reviews are welcome as always. They are keeping this story alive :)

Many thanks to JFVM , persian85033 , Moon Mage Goddess for their reviews.


	22. Mercury's memory

Chapter 22: Mercury's memory

Ami and Zac were sitting near the lake behind Hikawa shrine.

Ami said, "Concentrate, Zac. You can do this."

Zac held a glass of water in his hand, trying to channel his energy to it. The water seemed to be getting a bit colder, but two minutes had passed and the water still remained liquid. Zac was sweating and shaking. He was exhausting his energy fast. Finally he broke his focus and sighed defeatedly and hung his head between his hands.

"I can't. I can't do it." Zac exasperated.

Ami reached out to touch his shoulder. "That's alright, Zac. We'll just keep trying. You will get it eventually."

Zac put down his hands and looked at her, "We don't have time, Ami. We have to fight them in two weeks. It's already been two days, and I still can't get my power back!"

"Maybe we need to try something else," Ami was deep in her thoughts. Then she said, "we have been trying to channel your energy to water to control it, but was that really the way you controlled it in the past?"

"I don't know, Ami," he said. "I don't remember how my magic power came about. I don't know how I did it. I know I could control water, but the details of what I could do are really fuzzy. Do you remember how I was using power when I was with you?"

Ami said, "We didn't train that much together back then. I mostly remember that you could do almost everything I could. You could freeze water, create fog, control water as a weapon, and you use an icicle as an arrow. You were deadly accurate with your target." Ami turned to smile at Zac.

He smiled back but he quickly turned to regret. "But that was then, I can't do it now. I'm so useless." He sat down on the ground and covered his head with his hands.

Ami sat next to him and let silence be their companion for a moment.

Zac, still keeping his eyes at the lake, said, "Ami, why are you not angry with me?"

"Why do I have to be angry with you?" Ami asked back.

"Rei has been angry with Junichi since they met. And based on my memory of the last day on the moon, I thought you would be angry with me too."

"Do you remember what happened right before you died?" Ami asked.

"Yeah."

"Then you shouldn't be surprised that I'm not angry with you." Ami said.

"But I still did betrayed you. Even though I realized it in the end, it didn't make me innocent. I still led Terran army to the Moon Kingdom. I was a part of the war," Zac said.

"We were all part of the war, Zac. But on some level, you were just a piece in a chess game. They were using you. You didn't want to do it." Ami said.

"You are too kind to me. I don't know if I deserve such forgiveness," Zac said.

The silence filled between them. They were still looking out to the lake, lost in their own thoughts.

"Well, you saved my life back then. Isn't that enough reason for me to forgive you?" Ami asked. Zac remained silent.

Ami turned to Zac and continued, "It is, Zac. And it certainly is enough reason for you to forgive yourself. You fought Metallia and you came back to your senses in the end. And you died protecting me."

"But —

"Don't say anything about that again. I forgive you. It's time you forgive yourself," Ami said, looking at him.

"I'll try."

Ami slightly shook her head. This was not General Zoicite that she knew. He was not the smugly confident Zac that she knew. This defeating attitude was so foreign coming from this guy in front of her. He was usually so proud, some may say slightly arrogant, but she thought it was part of his charm. He was so smart, and he took a pride in his intelligence. Nothing's wrong with that. But this, this giving-up attitude was something she'd never seen before. Not in Zoicite. Not in Zac.

"Do you remember when you saved my life?" Ami asked

"I did?"

"Yeah, let me tell you what happened then." Ami tried to bring forth her memories from Silver Millennium. As she was thinking about the memory, the blue light shone from her forehead. Her Mercury signed went glowing. Then it went to Zac's forehead. Their memories were suddenly connected. Zac could see Ami's memory, or to be accurate, Mercury's memory.

—Memory—

"Serenity mentioned that she and the prince were going outside tonight, but I'd never have thought it would be this beautiful." Mercury said as she was admiring the scene of a still lake perfectly reflecting moonlight on its surface. Standing next to her was Zoicite. They were here guarding their prince and princess. The senshi's mission of retrieving their princess had now turned into guarding her while she was on secret rendezvous with her prince. All senshi knew there was no stopping their princess, so they gave up on that and made guarding her while she was on earth their mission instead.

"Yes, the lake here is breathtaking, especially on nights like this," Zoicite said.

"So you have been here often?" Mercury asked.

"Once in a while. I like to come here for some quiet time. To think."

"We have this frozen lake near the Moon Palace. I like to go there to —contemplate things." Mercury said.

"I'd love to see it with you sometime," Zoicite said looking at Mercury.

"Too bad, Terrans and Lunarians are still forbidden to see each other."

"Not for long, Mercury. Not for long," he said with confidence.

Suddenly Zoicite was looking swiftly at the sound. He was trying to find the origin of the sound, but he couldn't quite locate where it came from yet. He held Mercury at her waist and said, "We are not alone."

Mercury quickly pulled out her computer and scanned the area.

"I saw three places of body heat. Three men." She was still engaging in her computer.

"We have to alert Endymion and Serenity." Zoicite looked around trying to locate his prince.

"They are aiming at Endymion and Serenity." Mercury said with a calm voice even though she was panicking inside. Now was the time to act quickly. In her computer she saw two men hiding on two tree branches, above from where Endymion and Serenity were standing. This made them a perfect target for the two men. Mercury started running toward her princess, trying to be faster than the arrows the two men were aiming at Serenity. Endymion noticed the arrows coming and quickly turned to protect Serenity. Mercury reached Serenity and tried to get her to run to hide in the forest surrounding the lake. Mercury saw Zoicite was fighting another man at the place they were standing before. This man was trying to engage Zoicite in a sword fight so that the other two men could shoot at Endymion and Serenity. Mercury led Endymion and Serenity to run through the forest. She turned back to take a look at Zoicite. It was still far away, but she was seeing that he was now fighting five men. Another two men showed up out of nowhere and the two on the trees came down and fought with him. They had missed their target. Now they just had to make the most damage possible.

Mercury was torn. She had to get Serenity to safety, she knew that. But she also didn't want to leave Zoicite fighting alone. Even as a capable general as he is, fighting five men in the dark was not an easy task. And Zoicite was more skilled at using bow and arrows to fight from a distance, not close combat. It seemed like Zoicite was going to lose. He had several wounds all over his body. Mercury could see that he was having a hard time holding off the five men. She knew that he didn't have time to summon his magic. He had to fight with sword. And now he had no energy left to use his power. She had to do something.

"Endymion, can you take care of Serenity? I trust you to protect her."

"Yes, Mercury. I'll protect her with my life," Endymion said.

"What are you doing, Mercury?" Serenity asked as Mercury was running toward the fight.

"Mercury aqua illusion." Her attack made the five men lost their balance and stumbled. She went in to help Zoicite.

"What are you doing? Get away from here. I can handle this." Zoicite said as Mercury was holding him supporting his weight.

"Clearly you can't. I'm a fighter too. I'm not going to leave you fighting alone," Mercury said.

Mercury summoned icicles and sent them to stab two men standing in front of them. One man went down on his knees, the other one fell down on his back, crying as they were feeling the pain. But two men coming from behind tried to use their swords to attack Mercury from the back. Zoicite saw this, used his power to create a dagger from ice and sent it to one guy's heart. He didn't have enough time to attack the other men, so he pushed Mercury forward and took the sword in her place. The sword went through his side. He cried out as the man pulled the sword out. Zoicite fell into Mercury's arms.

"No!" Merecury cried out.

Suddenly a kris came flying and stabbed the sword man in the heart, killing him at an instant. Mercury looked to see Jadeite and Nephrite running to help them. As Mercury was trying to stop Zoicite's bleeding with her freezing power, Jadeite and Nephrite managed to kill off all the other men. Then they run back to see Zoicite.

"How is he?" Nephrite asked.

"Not good. Not good. He's losing blood fast. He's pulse is slowing," her voice's shaking.

"Let me." Nephrite said as he carried his fellow shitennou and tried to run as fast as he could. Mercury and Jadeite followed closely until they reached the palace, which luckily was not too far from the lake. There stood Endymion, Serenity and Kunzite in shock when they saw Zoicite's condition.

"Take him to the infirmary!" Endymion ordered and followed them.

As soon as Zoicite was laid down on the bed, Endymion used his healing power to help Zoicite. He was critically injured. Endymion couldn't heal all of it, but he would do enough to keep his shitennou alive.

Mercury looked pale as she watched Endymion worked on healing Zoicite. She was afraid Zoicite might die since it seemed like he was slipping into unconsciousness.

"Look at me, Zoi. Don't fall asleep. Look at me!" Mercury said while holding his hand and gently squeezed it.

Zoicite opened his eyes. Mercury saw this and let out a sigh of relief. "Hang in there, Zoi. Endymion will help you."

Zoicite gave a small nod. "I'll be fine, Mercury. Endymion's healing power is amazing. I'll be up and running in no time."

"You are badly injured, Zoi. Came in a few minutes later and you would have been death, do you know that?" Endymion scolded at him.

"Sorry, Endymion."

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken Serenity outside. This was all my fault." Endymion said.

"I'm just doing my job, Endy."

"Stop talking and rest, Zoi." Endymion said as he continued working his magic.

Nephrite, Jadeite, Kunzite and Serenity stood and watched the scene unfolded before them. Serenity had yet to see anyone being critically injured from a fight before. She was scared and covered her mouth with her hands, lost for words.

"Serenity, you should wait outside. Can you take care of her?" Mercury turned to the three shitennou.

"Yes, we will be right outside if you need us," Kunzite said as he led everyone outside except for Endymion and Mercury.

For a while Endymion was using his power to heal Zoicite. Mercury didn't have a healing power, but she knew enough about medicine to know that Zoicite was almost died. And now it was up to Endymion's magic to keep Zoicite alive.

Endymion, however, was losing his energy fast. Mercury saw that he was almost collapsing from using too much energy.

"Stop, Endymion. You can't do anymore than this."

"But I have to, I have to help him."

"I think he is fine now. He's still injured but not critical anymore. Let him rest and let his body heal naturally. You are using too much energy already. It won't do any good, either for him or for you." Mercury said to Endymion.

Endymion tried to stood up. He felt so lightheaded that he had to lean against the wall. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and said, "I will be outside."

"Please get some rest, your highness," Mercury went back to her formal tone.

"Inform Serenity that I will be out there in a few minutes." Endymion nodded and walked outside. Jadeite wanted to escort the prince to rest in his chamber, but he insisted on staying until Serenity would leave.

Mercury had never seen Zoicite in such a vulnerable position before. He was always calm and collected in front of her. She had only seen him with his bow and arrows, which he was an expert in. But she had yet to see him in a sword fight before. It was impressive how long he had held out against five men, but he was a mere mortal, and he was caught off guard. Mercury couldn't help but thought that had she not came back for him, he might have died. The prospect of that thought scared her to death. She had never thought about losing him before. Frankly, she never thought about how she felt toward him. She knew he liked her, a lot. And she enjoyed spending time with him. But she was never in a rush to move beyond that. After all, they were still officially forbidden to see each other. Why complicate things? But now as she saw him lying near comatose, she realized how much he meant to her.

"Don't scare me like that ever again, Zoi!" She scolded him, holding back her tears.

"You scared me to death, woman. Why did you come back for me? You could have been hurt." Zoicite looked at Mercury, seemingly angry with her.

"If anything happens to you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself." Zoicite said.

"And I would?" Mercury said in a slight annoyed tone.

Silence filled the room for a minute.

"I'm sorry," Mercury said while tending to his wound.

"Why?"

"If I wasn't so careless, you wouldn't get stabbed." Mercury said.

"No, I almost lost when you came back. You rescued me, dear." Zoicite said.

"I don't know what I would do if anything happens to you," Mercury said, looking at Zoicite.

"Why? Are you falling in love with me now?" Zoicite said playfully.

"Yes"

Zoicite couldn't believe his ears.

"What did you just say?"

"I think I'm falling in love with you, Zoi." Mercury blushed but she didn't avert his eyes.

Zoicite didn't know what to say. It was surprising to see his usually timid and quiet princess said anything so bold. He looked at her lovingly.

"I love you too, Mercury. I have since the day we met." He raised his hand to touch her face. They both locked eyes with each other, lost in the moment.

"I have to escort Serenity home. But I will be back to see you as soon as I can." Mercury said. Zoicite gave a small nod.

"Promise me you will stay alive when I get back," she said worryingly. Then she leaned in, used one hand to hold his face and kissed him on the lips. It was short, but sweet.

—end of memory—

The blue light between Ami and Zac faded, leaving them kissing as they did in the memory. As soon as they realized they were back to the present, they broke apart.

"I'm sorry," Zac struggled to find words.

Ami smiled and said, "Why? Are you sorry you kissed me?"

"No, of course not." He shook his head. "I just didn't want you to think that I was taking advantage of you."

"You'd never take advantage of me," Ami said softly.

They lost in the moment, starting in each other's eyes for a minute until Zac suddenly realized something.

"I know now! I know now!" Zac yelled with excitement. Ami looked at him quizzically.

"I know how to summon water to create an ice dagger!" Zac then stepped toward the lake, holding his hands up in the air to summon his power. Then an ice dagger manifested in the air. As he stopped his power, the dagger fell onto his hands.

Ami covered her mouth with excitement. "You did it, Zac! You did it!" Ami hugged Zac with joy but as soon as they realized they were hugging each other, they broke apart, blushing.

"Sorry." Ami said, looking down at the ground, trying to hide her red cheeks.

She tried to bring it back to work. " So how did you do it?"

"I don't know exactly but when we were in your memory, I saw what I did to protect you, and when I woke up from the memory, it suddenly just came to me. "

"Can you do something else?" Ami asked.

Zac summoned his energy again and manifested an arrow made of ice.

"Now that's more my element." Zac said with excitement. He then proceeded to form different weapons from ice, but they would only stay solid for a few minutes before evaporating.

"We have to find a way for you to transform to your shitennou self. Then your power would be stronger" Ami touched her chin and went into her analytical thinking mode.

"We never had to transform before. I don't know how to do that."

"If Mamoru can transform into Tuxedo Mask and Endymion, I don't see why you can't. There must be a way," Ami said with determination.

—

AN. Thank you very much for favs and reviews. Rei/Jun scene will be next.

Lucky's girl: Thank you so much for your reviews. It's great to know that someone's enjoy reading it. I knew fighting scenes would be hard for me. I originally didn't plan on having these many fighting scenes when I started this, but the story has a life of its own now. So I gotta learn how to write better! Thanks for bearing with me through my poor, but hopefully, improved, writing. :)


	23. Mars' memory

Chapter 23: Mars' memory

Since Ami and Zac had told everyone that recalling past memories helped Zac gain his power back, Rei had been helping Junichi recalling past memories for the whole day, but nothing seemed to work.

"This is really frustrating," Junichi said to the group, which was all sitting in front of the shrine.

"Don't give up, Jun." Zac pat Junichi's shoulder to comfort his friend.

"I don't get it. We've tried everything. All the important memories, we have been recalling them all." Rei said.

"Are you sure those were all? There were a lot of past life memories, Rei. It might be difficult to cover them all," Ami said.

"That's why we were focusing on the important ones. I can't think of anything else that would be so important that could bring his power back." Rei said.

"You guys have been trying this all day. Maybe you should take a break. How about you helping me with archery? I could really use some help." Zac said to Rei.

"Sure, let's go." Rei grabbed her bow and arrows and headed for the archery training area. Zac followed.

—

at the training ground

"You are not letting him in, Rei," Zac said.

"Why would you think that?" Rei asked.

"You two don't look each other in the eyes. It's impossible to recall so memories together, especially all the important ones, without bringing back those feelings from the past. And I know he loved you deeply. If you both were really recalling your memories, you two wouldn't be acting like this," Zac said.

"I tried, Zac. I really tried. We went through so many memories together, and nothing worked."

"You know it in your heart that there is one memory. The most important memory that you don't want him to remember."

Rei stayed silent.

"I don't know what that memory is, but I know you do. And whether you want him to remember or not is your choice."

"I know it's painful. It's painful for me to remember how I almost killed Mercury. I imagined it must be thousands times more difficult to remember Jadeite killed you. And I know it will be even harder for him. But if we want to win this, we need him to fight. We need all the fighters we can get, Rei. I'm sorry you have to go through this."

"It's more than just the memory of the last day on the moon."

"Don't tell me. Tell Jun."

Rei stared into space as she thought about a memory, her past-life memory that Jadeite didn't even know existed.

—

After Zac's archery lesson, Rei and Junichi were back at the fire chamber to work through more memories.

Rei sat silently in front of the fire, staring at it to look for some answers. Junichi was sitting next to her, contemplating what to do next.

Rei finally said, "Junichi, there is a memory that I didn't want to recall, but I guess we have no choice but to try."

"Will it be too painful for you?" Junichi asked with concern.

"It will be no painful than experiencing it." Rei said as she thought about the memory. The red light flashed from her forehead, bearing the Mars symbol and connected with Junichi's forhead.

—Memory—

"Mars, I love you so much." Jadeite wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her body closer to his.

"At dawn, I will have to go fighting Beryl and her force, but I promise you I will return as soon as possible." Jadeite reached into his pocket and pulled a gold necklace with a ruby pendent.

"I know this fight might be long, so I got you something to remind me that I will come back." Jadeite said while putting it around her neck.

"I'd rather have you than this necklace." Mars said while hugging him.

"I do too, but I have a duty to do, but I promise you I will be back before you know it." Jadeite said.

"You promise you will come back?" Mars said.

"Don't I always?" Jadeite smiled at her and embraced her in his arms once more.

Mars forced a smile, but she had a feeling that something might go wrong.

"I'm scared." Mars said.

Jadeite was surprised to hear this. His lady wasn't the one who scare for anything so easily, and even when she did, she rarely admited it.

"Do you have a premonition?" He looked at her.

"I don't know. I don't see exactly what is going to happen, but I have a bad feeling." Mars said.

"It will be fine, my love. I admit it's going to be a tough battle, but the shitennou and I are ready and so is our army. It may take some time to defeat Beryl, but I am confident that we will win." Jade tried to ease her worry.

Jadeite reached for his cape hanging near the door, preparing to escort his lady to the teleporter. Mars felt a vision of Jade disappearing. She then grabbed him from behind and embraced him. Jade felt a rush in her strong embrace.

"I don't want to go." Mars said while resting her head on his broad back.

He turned back and faced her, touching her face with his strong hands.

"I don't want you to leave either, love. But comes morning, I will have to leave," he said.

She clung to him, clutching his uniform and said, "Let me stay with you for a few more hours." She was usually not the one who would say something like this, but the vision of Jadeite disappearing felt so real, giving her an empty feeling in her heart.

"Are you sure about this, love? I don't know how much I can control myself if I stay with you tonight." Jade said.

"Then don't. Don't control yourself." Mars said.

"You mean it?" Jade asked.

"I want you, every part of you, now." Mars said while brushing her slander fingers along his face.

"Mars, are you sure about this? I don't want to feel like taking advantage of you when you are vulnerable." Jade said.

"I wouldn't have asked you if I wasn't sure." Mars said.

Jade kissed her passionately, and she returned his kiss just as eagerly. They lost themselves in the night of passion and fire in their first night together, and sadly, their last.

—end memory—

Junichi and Rei opened their eyes.

"That was a beautiful memory," Junichi said as he thought about their first night together. "Why did you say it would be painful?"

Rei paused as she thought about what happened the night before Jadeite left for the battle. She still felt his passionate touch even after a lifetime. She looked at Junichi. "We stayed together and then you left for the battle with Beryl."

"Yes, it was a magical night." Junichi said.

"I didn't hear from you since then. About a month later, I got a word that you had disappeared. I thought you were dead." Rei said.

"Then two weeks later, you showed up on the moon, holding your sword, ready to fight me." Rei stared at Jade.

"When you ran your sword through me, you didn't just kill me. You killed — us," Rei said.

Junichi thought and pieces started to fit together. "You were…pregnant?"

Rei closed her eyes. No more words needed be said.

Junichi was stunned. "Rei, I ….. I didn't know."

Rei tried to hold back her tears. "I have to go," she said and walked out of the fire chamber. As she was heading towards her room, tears were streaming down her face. She covered her face with her hands, not wanting anyone to see her tears. She ran to her room, flopped down on the bed and let out her cries.

Alone in the fire chamber, Junichi leaned against the wall and slumped down to the floor. His head buried in his hands as the new information hit him.

—

A few hours later, everybody was having dinner together at the shrine. Rei and Junichi were quiet the whole time, rendering others to wonder what was going on between them. After the meal, Rei excused herself to the fire chamber alone, while Jun took a walk outside the shrine for some quiet time.

Minako noticed the change in Junichi. She walked outside to see him standing near the tree, leaning against it. She approached him slowly.

"Are you ok?" Minako asked.

"I'm fine, Minako."

"You don't seen fine." Minako looked at Junichi, trying to understand what's going on.

"I don't know what happened between you and Rei. But that was the past. You can't let it ruin the present and the future," Minako said.

"So do you completely forgive Ken?"

Minako lost in her thought for a moment. "I've never met your brother, so I can't say I forgive him. But I forgive Kunzite. I love him to much to let the past hinder our future." Minako looked up in the sky.

"What I did to Mars was way worse than what he did to you," Junichi sighed.

"We all know you betrayed us, but that's because you were controlled by Beryl and Metallia. It wasn't your choice."

"We were weak enough that Beryl could control us. That was our fault. We should have been stronger and more careful. We underestimated them and it backfired on us. If I could turn back time, I'd rater die than betraying you all," Junichi said.

"We all know that," Minako said. "I know Rei may not forgive you right away, but can you at least forgive yourself? You need to fight Ferdinand. In a fight, you can't afford to doubt yourself. If you really want to help us, you need to forgive yourself for what happened a lifetime ago."

Silence filled the air. Minutes had passed without anyone saying a word. Junichi finally gave a big sigh and said, "She was pregnant."

Minako was surprised, "What?"

"I got her pregnant."

"Mars?"

Junichi nodded.

Minako was stunned. Out of all her senshi, Mars was the last one she would have thought to give in to passion and temptation. But she also knew that her Martian senshi was full of passionate fire. Maybe there were something she had never noticed about her fellow senshi. Minako felt guilty for telling Rei to forgive Junichi this whole time. Obviously, the situation was more complicated than she had thought.

"I love her, more than anything. But no matter how many times we were reborn, it seemed like I always managed to mess things up. I'd had three chances with her already, and I couldn't get it right a single damn time!" Junichi yelled angrily at himself and threw a fist at the tree trunk.

Minako touched his shoulder to calm him down. But she had no words to say.

"And I killed them, Minako. I killed them both on the last day on the moon. I killed my soulmate and our child." Junichi tried to hold back his tears, but it was too much.

"She'll never forgive me, and I don't expect her to."

"So you are just going to give up?"

"What I did was horrible, Minako. I deserve eternal condemnation. I wish I had never been reborn."

Minako slapped him in the face.

"Don't you ever say that again!" Minako trembling with anger.

Junichi touched his slapped cheek and looked at Minako. "Punish me however you want, Minako. I deserve it all."

"You are a coward, Junichi." Minako stared at him.

"No argument here."

Minako walked up to him and looked him in the eyes. "Do you know how long we have been crying ourselves to sleep wishing you guys would come back? Do you know how many nightmares woke us up in the middle of the nights because of our memories together? Do you know our chance with shitennou was the one thing we ever regret since becoming senshi? Do you know how sad Mamoru is watching senshi together wishing he had his brothers here too? So don't you dare—." Minako paused. "Don't you dare ever wish that you had never been reborn. You can punish yourself if you want to, but don't punish us."

Junichi said, "Why do you even want me in your lives? I'm a traitor, a murderer, a liar and a useless coward." He sat down next to the tree.

Minako sat next to him, "You were. You were a traitor and all those things. But 'were', Junichi. Past tense."

"The past is always affecting the present and the future, Mina."

"I agree, but it doesn't define us. We did what we did, Junichi. There is no turning back, but are we going to let the past define who we are? Or are we going to change our destiny? It's our choice to make," Minako said.

"I'm not saying that it will be easy, but you can't give up. Once you lose hope, you have no power. You can't fight. You can't protect the ones you love. You can't save the world. So if you don't want to forgive yourself for your sake, at least keep your hopes alive for all of us, for the planet."

—

Makoto walked into the fire chamber, trying to step as lightly as possible. She kneeled down next to her friend.

"Rei, can I sit with you?"

Her fire priestess opened her eyes slowly and gave her a small nod. They both sat silently in front of the fire for a few minutes.

"I'm worried about you," Mako disturbed the silence. "Everyone is."

Mako put her hand on Rei's shoulder to give her some comfort. "This is difficult for us all, Rei. It's a lot of things, painful things to work through."

Rei turned to look at her auburn-haired friend and gave her a forced smile. "Thank you, Mako."

Then they sat silently for a while, Makoto letting her presence and silence comfort her friend.

"How did you forgive Nephrite so quickly? I know it must be quite easy for Ami because Zoicite did come to his senses and protected her at the end. But for you? Isn't it hard to forget all that?"

"I don't forget what happened, Rei," Mako said. "And I'm not trying to." Rei looked at her friend puzzlingly.

"Forgiveness is not the same as forgetting. I forgive him, but I can't forget what happened," Mako said. "But our future is more important than the past. That's why I forgive him."

"Aren't you afraid that the past will repeat itself?" Rei asked.

"If it does, that's when I'll deal with it." Mako smiled.

"Once bitten, twice shy, Mako. We have to learn from our mistakes."

Makoto looked Rei in the eyes and she realized something.

"You are not mad at Jadiete. You are mad at yourself." Mako ventured a guess.

Rei was stunned by how perceptive her friend was. Being through so many fights together had made them closer than she had realized.

Rei gave a small nod and tears started rolling down her face. Mako embraced her normally strong friend and let her cry. They were always there for each other. They were both strong girls, but moments like these reminded Mako that they were still normal girls inside.

Rei sobbed and let go of her friend's hug to wipe her tears. She was staring at the fire as though she was begging for its forgiveness.

"In Silver Millennium, I—," she paused. "I was pregnant." Rei uttered softly.

Makoto looked at her friend and embraced her once more.

Rei was surprised at her friend's reaction. "You are not surprised?"

Makoto shook her head slightly, causing even more surprise for Rei.

"I thought you would be surprised that I even did something like that." Rei looked away from her friend.

"We were girls in love, Rei. Teenage girls very much in love. Yes, we had our duties but we were still girls. Serenity fell in love and so did we."

"But I shouldn't have let that happened, Makoto. I was a spiritual guidance for the Moon Kingdom. I was supposed to be celibate until I got married. But I was too weak." Rei said and then closed her eyes strongly as if she never wanted to open them again.

"The last night," Rei said. "I sensed that something bad was going to happen. I felt him disappearing. I felt like it was going to be our last night together. And it just happened." Rei covered her face with her hands and let her tears go.

"And then I blindly trusted him enough to let him run his sword," she paused. "Through both of us." Her voice trembled as she thought about her unborn child.

"I should still have been able to control myself." Rei said angrily to herself.

"Rei, let me know ask you something. If it was me who got pregnant, would you punish me for eternity?" Makoto asked.

Rei shook her head. "I'd probably scold at you for a while." Rei paused. "But I wouldn't condemn you to eternal hell."

"Then why are you doing that to yourself?"

Rei sighed.

"You made a mistake, you learn from it and move on. Although I don't really think it was a mistake, but if you think it was, then just learn from it and move on," Makoto said.

"I'm learning from it, Mako. I'm trying not to make that happen again. I'm not going to give myself to any man enough to destroy myself ever again."

"That's not learning from your mistake, Rei. That's punishing yourself for one mistake for the rest of your life, for two lives, actually," Mako said. "Don't you think it's time for you to start anew?"

"I've learned my lesson, Mako. And I've made my decision." Rei said sternly.

"I'm not asking you to get back with Jadeite. I just don't want you to suffer through one 'perceived' mistake you did, for God knows how long?, thousands and thousand of years already." Rei remained silent, seemingly lost in her thoughts.

Makoto sensed that her friend wanted to be alone. She pat her friend on her shoulder and said, "There are more beautiful things in life than anger, Rei. I don't want you to miss them." Mako got up and walked slowly out of the fire chamber. Once Mako had slid the door close, Rei closed her eyes and warm tears streaming down her face. This time she did not hold back. She let them go, for as long as she needed.

—

AN. This was the most difficult chapter to write so far. I'd had the scenes in my head for a long time, but it was hard to put the pieces together. But at least I got it done! Hope you enjoy it. Favs and reviews are my motivation :)

Lady-Dragonguardian: I'm glad you like it. It's hard trying to represent 8 personalities together, but I'm having so much fun!

Moonprincess998 : Ami and Zac chapters always come out so sweet. I didn't even plan it that way :)

persian85033 : I know! The last scene of Venus and Kunzite in crystal captured my heart too. That scene made me want to write about them.

Lucky's Girl : Thank you so much for your detailed review. I'm learning a lot. We'll see in a couple of chapters if your guess is correct. :)


	24. When I first met you -Jupiter

Chapter 24: When I first met you- Jupiter

After that day Rei and Junichi recalling their memory, Junichi was able to get his power of controlling fire back. He still needed more training to be able to master it, but for the time being it seemed like he could help with the fight. But the result of getting his power back was Rei and Junichi not being able to look at each other or even stay in the same room alone together.

—

"What are you going to do, Minako, Makoto?" Artemis asked.

Both girls remained silent, losing in their own thoughts.

Luna said, "From what happened with Zac and Junichi, I think it's safe to say that if we want to get Nate and Ken back to our side, we have to get rid of their weapons and wake them up with your memories together.

"That's tricky because we don't know which memory will be able to awaken their power," Makoto said.

"Minako? Are you ok?" Artemis waved his paw in front of his partner's face, waking Minako up from her own thoughts.

Minako came back to reality and said, "I guess Makoto and I will try to go through all the memories to see which one might be able to work."

"I know it will be painful for you both. Let us know if you need any help or support," Luna said to the girls.

"Come, Mako-chan. Let's go to the park and we will work through this," Minako said.

"Want us to come with you?" Artemis asked.

Minako waved her hand, "Don't worry, Artemis. We can take care of ourselves. If there is anything, we will contact you through communicators."

Minako and Makoto slowly walked away from the shrine to the park nearby.

Luna said to Artemis, "Do you think they will be ok? It's so rare to see them both being so vulnerable like this."

"They are strong, Luna. They just need some time to figure things out." Artemis's eyes followed the sight of two girls leaving the shrine. "You will get through this. I believe in you both."

—

Minako and Makoto walked to the park, found an empty bench in a quiet secluded area and sat down next to each other.

Makoto looked her blonde friend, "It's not going to be easy trying to recall memories of our guys knowing that they are not here with us."

"Yeah, but if we want to save them, this is the only chance we've got," Minako said.

"So how do we do this?" Makoto asked.

Minako smiled lightly and said, "How about starting with the first time we met them?"

"Oh God, that was a funny story. And you sure had in your hands in it, Venus." Makoto playfully elbowed her friend.

—Jupiter's memory—

Serenity was on earth again, but this time she was determined to get all her senshi to meet Endymion's shitennou. They had yet to meet everyone officially. Sure, Mercury had met Zoicite, Venus with Kunzite, Mars with Jadeite. So each of her senshi had only met one shitennou so far, and Jupiter had never met any of them. And Nephrite hadn't met any senshi. Both Serenity and Endymion felt that since senshi and shitennou would be spending a lot of time together, they should at least know one another. So the royals decided it was time to officially introduce all of them to one another.

This time they gathered on earth at night as usual. They were at the forest within the palace ground. Mercury, Mars,Venus and Jupiter escorted Serenity to the meeting place. Zoicite, Kunzite and Jadeite were waiting with Endymion. Nephrite was to follow along after finishing his patrol at the palace.

After the official introduction, everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Each was taking turn talking about their duties and their kingdoms. The subject of fighting inevitably came up as there were seven warriors in the discussion, eight if counting Endymion.

"It was impressive to hear that you are all deft at different types of weapons," Venus said.

"Well, I think your power with different elements are even more impressive, Sailor Venus," Kunzite said.

"But just so you know, we are not just good at using elemental power, we are also good at hand-to-hand combat. The best one among us is right here." Venus patted Jupiter on the back.

"Yes, words spread that Jovial warriors are among the best hand-to-hand combat fighters in the solar system," Zoicite said.

"My apology, your highness. The patrol took longer than anticipated." Nephrite ran to meet everyone, bowing apologetically to Endymion.

"No problem, Nephrite. We were just talking about hand-to-hand combat, and I must present to you all the best hand-to-hand combat fighter here in the Middle Kingdom, General Nephrite." Endymion said to the girls while gestured Nephrite to step to the front.

"You are flattering me, Endymion." Nephrite stepped forward and bowed to the girls. "I'm General Nephrite. Please to meet you all."

The girls seemed pleased to finally meet to last shitennou. Jupiter was at the back since she was taller than everyone else. But she seemed to admire this general fine features.

Venus looked at Nephrite and Jupiter and said, "how about a friendly hand-to-hand duel between the earth and the moon?"

Serenity said as if she could read the senshi leader's mind, "That's a great idea. It'd be great for both kingdoms to learn about fighting techniques from each other."

"I present to you the best hand-to-hand combat fighter of Middle Kingdom, General Nephrite." Nephrite walked forward and bowed to Endymion and Serenity.

Nephrite walked to the small open field among the forest that would soon be his fighting ground.

"Now I present to you the best hand-to-hand combat warrior of the Moon Kingdom."

Nephrite held his breath waiting to hear who his new formidable fighter would be.

"Sailor Jupiter." Serenity announced, Sailor Jupiter walked forward to the other end of the field. Nephrite's eyes widened. He was expecting some tough Lunarian knight that might have escorted the Princess to come forward, not a woman! A beautiful woman in a short fuku for that matter. Sailor Jupiter stood on guard prepared for the fight, while Nephrite was reluctant and looked at his prince puzzlingly.

"Endymion, are you sure?" Nephrite asked.

"I'm sure, Nephrite. Serenity said she is the best fighter." Endymion answered.

"But I don't want to hurt her." Nephrite said, hearing the giggles from Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus. Surely, Nephrite never heard of Sailor Jupiter. Well, he's in for a big surprise.

Sailor Jupiter pretended she didn't hear Nephrite's words, but her eyes showed her slight annoyance towards the brown-haired shitennou. Who is he to judge her fighting abilities based on the fact that she is a woman! For Jovians, this was deeply insulting. On Jupiter, anyone could be the best fighter regardless of their gender or age.

"Standard hand-to-hand combat rules. No weapon. No magic. Start the fight!" Kunzite announced.

After Kunzite announced the beginning of the fight, Nephrite and Jupiter were staring each other, trying to anticipate the other's move. Nephrite seemed reluctant to make the first move, probably because he didn't want to hurt Jupiter. So she made the first move. She ran quickly and threw her right punch at Nephrite. He stepped back and defended himself. She didn't stop to give him a second to attack back. She went full force. He still kept dodging her attacks. Him not fighting back angered her even more. She resorted to her deadly kick attacks. He still managed to dodge it. Damn he was good, she thought. He wasn't even fighting back and yet she was starting to feel a little exhausted. She threw her right punch, causing him to lower his head and averted to the left. She used this chance to knee him, which she succeeded. He paused and touched his middle section. Now he knew she was serious. He started to fight back.

Twenty minutes had passed with no sign of who was winning. They both looked exhausted but no one dared to call it quit. The prince and princess saw how exhausting both of their guards were and called it a tie.

Both Jupiter and Nephrite were panting heavily from the fight. They bowed to each other. Jupiter said, "Please excuse me." Jupiter then walked away from the fighting ground, feeling annoyed, irritated and frustrated. Nephrite hurriedly followed her. "I'm going to make sure she is ok," he said to Endymion and shitennou.

—

"You were insulting me, General." Jupiter said angrily at Nephrite.

"I beg your pardon?" Nephrite said.

"You thought I wasn't a good fighter, and you said so, in front of everyone," Jupiter said.

"Well, you had shown them that my words warranted no truth, Sailor Jupiter," Nephrite said.

"I'm not surprised why others has deemed Earth to be primitive in the solar system. Judging people solely based on their appearances is deeply undeveloped," Jupiter said.

Nephrite was slightly irritated that Jupiter had reminded him yet again that his home planet had been considered 'undeveloped' by other planets in Silver Alliance. But then again, he was insulting her in front of others. She had the right to be mad.

"I apologize Sailor Jupiter. On earth, we men are raised to protect and respect women." Nephrite said.

"Assuming that they are not good fighters is not respecting them, General." Jupiter said.

"Again, I sincerely apologize. I haven't yet learned the ways of manners on other planets. Please forgive me, Sailor Jupiter." Nephrite bowed and left to go back to his prince.

Once Nephrite was back with the guys, the girls rushed over to see Jupiter.

"I think she might be a little mad. I will talk to her," Serenity said.

—

Once Endymion and the shitennou were alone, Nephrite let out his frustration.

"You could have warned me, Zoicite! I thought with all your studying about other planets, you could have warned me about Jovian fighters!" Nephrite said.

"How am I supposed to know that we were going to have a sparring match today? Even if I did warn you, you don't listen to me half the time anyway. Plus it's funnier this way." Zoicite laughed, following by Kunzite and Jadeite, even Endymion chuckled.

"This is not funny! I don't want Earth to appear weak!" Nephrite said.

"Relax, you didn't lose. It was a tie." Endymion patted Nephrite's shoulder.

"Yeah, but now she thinks that we are prejudiced and undeveloped." Nephrite sighed.

"Were you worried that _they_, the Lunarians and Jovians, think we are prejudiced, or that _she_ does?" Jadeite commented, not thinking about the repercussion that would follow when he messed with his older shitennou's anger.

"What are you saying, Jadeite?" Nephrite asked irritatedly.

"I think you like her," Jadeite said.

"You've gotta grow up a bit." Nephrite scolded his younger 'brother'.

"I'm going to rest now, Endymion. Please fetch me if there is anything urgent." Nephrite bowed to Endymion and walked off.

"Looks like you hit his nerve there." Endymion said to Jadeite.

"Well, ones have to be blind to not see their attractions. Every moment in that fight was heated, for a good reason." Jadeite crossed his arms and smirked.

"You are the expert on fire, Jade. We believe you." Endymion said with a grin.

—

Nephrite spotted Jupiter alone near the lake on his way back to his chamber. It seemed that princess Serenity and other senshi had joined back to be with his prince and shitennou. Nephrite mustered his courage and walked to Jupiter again.

Jupiter was standing near the lake, taking in the beautiful sight and smell of trees. Nephrite came up behind her slowly.

"You really are the best fighter I've ever seen," Nephrite said when he stood next to Jupiter.

"Stating the obvious, but thank you," Jupiter said, still annoyed by him from the fight.

"I'm really sorry about what I said." Nephrite apologized again. "I was just surprised."

Jupiter took her eyes off from the lake and looked at him, seeing him with sincere apologetic face made she feel a little guilty.

"No harm done, General. I'm sorry I said that earth was—."

"Undeveloped?"

"Yes, for that I'm sorry. I was just —"

"Angry?"

"Stop finishing my sentences, General." Jupiter said as she thought how come this guy could manage to get on her nerves so easily. Nephrite couldn't help but chuckled. What was it about this girl that intrigued him so much?

"Such a shame I didn't see you fight with your power?" Nephrite mentioned nonchalantly.

"Is that an invitation for another duel?" Jupiter asked.

"What if it is?" Nephrite smirked.

Jupiter looked at him and said, "You almost lost to me, and you are asking for another duel? With me using my planet power?"

"Unless you're afraid?" Nephrite knew exactly how to invite an equally powerful warrior for a duel.

Jupiter snorted, "You'd be sorry you said that." Jupiter said as she started summoning dark clouds bearing lightings

"Since you can use your planet power, I can use mine too." Nephrite said as he summoned a whirlwind around him.

Jupiter looked at him, and she was impressed. Not many guys dared to fight against her Jupiter thunder power, and those that did dare trying always ran away after seeing she summoned the clouds, but this guy seemed to be pleased to go up against her.

"I'm going to start you off easy." She launched her Flower Hurricane attack.

That was too easy for Nephrite. He controlled wind, creating a whirlwind carrying her attack the other way.

"Your power is wind! That's impressive." Jupiter smirked, thinking that he indeed looked awfully attractive when fighting.

Jupiter smiled at him and then summoned a rainstorm. Rain was one of her elements. She thrived in it. She sent the heavy rain down on them both. He closed his eyes, took it in for a while and then created a powerful wind that blew the dark cloud so hard that the raindrops became like small needles coming down at Jupiter. He didn't aim directly at her, so the needle-shaped raindrops only hit the ground around her.

Instead of being mad, Jupiter seemed to have fun. It had been so long since anyone could actually challenge her in a duel. It was boring for her to be honest. So a friendly fight with a worthy opponent was exactly what she was seeking.

Jupiter's tiara gave out the antenna, showing that she was going to summon thunders soon. The air around them seemed tense, winds blowing so great the oak tress all around bending with the winds, dark clouds hovering above both fighters, thunders roaring, lightings flickering in the air, causing the royals and the rest of senshi and shitennou to stop their chatting halfway.

"What is that?" Jadeite said as he saw the storm grew stronger.

"There's a strong electricity in the air," Mercury said.

"Oh Nephrite, what did you do?" Kunzite said as he started running toward the origin of the weird weather.

"Please Jupiter, don't do this here!" Mars yelled out as she followed Kunzite. She knew her fellow senshi tended to lose her temper easily, maybe as easily as herself. The rest of the group followed them.

The group stopped once they saw the air of fighting around Nephrite and Jupiter. As much as they wanted to stop the fight, they wouldn't dare get into the middle of the fight between the princess of thunder and the king of wind.

Jupiter and Nephrite were still facing each other with space between them. The rain was coming down hard, making the grass soft, several puddles forming. The ground they were standing on went soft from the rain. Jupiter sent a bolt of thunder down right in front of Nephrite, but he did not seem scared one bit. He created the whirlwind blowing so hard that Jupiter could barely stood firmly on her feet. Jupiter's Supreme Thunder attack went crashing with Nephrite's wind power. The crashing created a blow that blinded the observing group for a second.

Every grasped, fearing that their friends would get hurt.

After the crash died down, the wind storm left Nephrite and Jupiter together in a mud. He was down on his back, soaking all his body in mud, while she had fallen forward and landed on top of him. They looked each other in the eyes and bursted out laughing, causing everyone who had witnessed the incident to look at each other quizzically. Nephrite stood up and held out his hand to pull Jupiter out from the mud. She took his hand, but instead of having him pulled her up, she pulled him down soaking him in mud all over again. Nephrite was not about to let Jupiter get away that easily. He wrestled her, not easy since she was strong and tall, but eventually he managed to pin her down.

"Seems like I won this time," Nephrite said, looking fondly at Jupiter.

"No, I let you win." She smirked.

Nephrite smiled and said, "If you say so, Jupiter."

They looked at each other and smiled.

Serenity leaned in and whispered in Venus's ear, "You were right. They are a good match."

Venus smirked, proud with herself, "The Goddess of love's never wrong, Princess."

—End of memory—

Makoto smiled as she thought about her first time meeting Nephrite.

"You were a vicious little thing, Minako." Makoto elbowed her friend lightly. "You'd planned that meeting all along."

"You should thank me then." Minako grinned at her friend.

"I found out later that it was you who had convinced Serenity to have us meet all the shitennou together at the same time."

"Well, I had to do that otherwise you wouldn't fight with him," Minako said.

"I didn't have to fight with him to get to know him," Makoto protested.

"Oh yes, you did." Minako said, "As Sailor Jupiter, you had crushes so often, but no one held your attention long enough to develop a meaningful relationship. You were so bored with noble guys in court. You needed someone who could challenge you." Minako looked at her friend's smile.

"When Kunzite told me about Nephrite, I knew I had to have you two in a duel." Minako grinned mischievously.

"Well, you memory was not better than mine, Venus. Remember the first time you met Kunzite?" Makoto said.

"How can I forget?" Minako said, recalling her first memory of Kunzite.

—

AN. I originally had Makoto and Minako's memories in this chapter, but it was getting too long. So I decided to split it into two chapters. I'm writing V/K scene, but I don't really like how it unfolds. So if anyone has a suggestion for these two leaders, please let me know. :)

Moonprincess998, persian85033, thank you very much for your reviews. And thank you to those who read, followed and favorited my story. You're my motivation ^_^


	25. When I first met you -Venus

Chapter 25: When I first met you-Venus

—Venus's memory—

"Please, Venus. I really want to go to this ball." Serenity said to Venus.

"Absolutely not, princess. It's too dangerous for you to attend a Terran's ball," Venus said. "What if someone recognizes you? What if someone plans to attack you? Plus, I'm not sure we can trust this Terran prince yet. You've just met him last week, which by the way, I haven't yet forgiven you for sneaking off to earth by yourself."

"His name is Endymion," Serenity said. "And it's a masquerade ball. Nobody will know it's me."

"Please, princess. You have that royal aura. People say you are the most beautiful woman in the solar system. Do you really think someone won't recognize you?"

"Terrans have never seen me, well except for Endymion, of course," Serenity said. "Please, Venus. Please." Serenity pleaded with her beautiful blue eyes.

Venus shook her head, "What am I going to do with you, Serenity?"

"I told you what to do," Serenity said. "Go to the ball with me."

Venus looked at her princess, realizing that being strong-headed and stubborn as Serenity was, she could never stop her princess. If she didn't go with her, Serenity will sneak off by herself anyway. It maybe better to just go with her, at least to ensure her safety.

"Fine, Serenity. But no words about this to others. Not to other senshi, either."

Serenity beamingly smiled. "Thank you, Venus. Now let's go help me figure out what to wear." Serenity took Venus's hand and led her to the princess's enormous closet.

Venus followed Serenity, thinking that at least she liked this part of helping her princess selecting her best dress. And she loved dancing too, so maybe attending this ball wouldn't be so bad.

—

Serenity went with her pink gown with a white mask. Venus went with her satin bright golden gown with the blue mask to match her eyes. Endymion had their names on the guest list as nobles from the Far West kingdom.

This ball was held annually since Prince Endymion had turned 16 years old as the King's attempt to find a suitable noble girl for his only son.

Serenity and Venus entered the ball and then curtsied to Endymion, the King and the Queen.

The ball had started. Endymion asked Serenity for a dance. Immediately after Serenity went with Endymion, Venus was approached by a silver-haired man.

"May I have this dance?" he asked.

Venus took a look at him. Muscular, stiff, armed (although his dagger was hidden, years of training as the head senshi meant that she could spot these things pretty easily), this man had to be a solider, a high-rank one to be in this ball. Seeing that this man was standing next to Endymion earlier, it was not hard to guess that he must be the prince's guard or probably the head palace guard.

She took his hand, "My pleasure." She followed him to the dance floor.

After dancing for half a song, Venus said."You are not at all interested in dancing with me, are you?"

"Excuse me?" Kunzite looked puzzled, for he was sure that he danced well and treated her like a lady that she was.

"You are not dancing with me because you want to. You are dancing with to keep an eye on the prince." Venus said.

"I apologize, my lady, but I am merely doing my job." Kunzite said. Now it's clear to her that he was the prince's personal guard.

"So, my lady, where are you from?" Kunzite asked.

Venus smirked as she thought that he was performing a background check on her as a companion of the woman the prince was interested in. But Venus was more skilled at this.

"I'm more interested in where you are from," Venus said.

Kunzite was puzzled. He used to get his way, not in a spoiled sense, but in a controlled one. As the eldest child of the South Kingdom, he had tons of responsibilities and he always got his answers when he wanted to. This woman was challenging him.

"No need for a pretense. I know who you are." Kunzite said.

Venus smirked. "Then why did you ask?"

"I was just being polite."

"You were just trying to see what I would say or, to be exact, what lie I would come up with." Venus said, "Since you know who I am, may I ask who you are?"

"I'm the prince's personal guard, General Kunzite."

"So the prince told you we were coming?" Venus asked.

"Yes, I didn't agree with him, of course, but there was really no way to stop the prince once he set his mind on something."

"Seems like we both have stubborn royals in our care," Venus said. "Things will get a lot more interesting from now on, general."

Kunzite said, "That's what I was afraid of."

Venus smirked, "The prince's general is actually afraid of something?"

"Enemy armies I can handle, spies I can expose, threats I can deter, but love," Kunzite said. "is something I can't control. And I fear what Endymion might do when he is — in love."

Venus looked through his silver mask. Kunzite seemed so strong on the outside, but when speaking of love, he seemed so vulnerable.

"You don't have love in your life, general?" Venus asked.

"My duty doesn't allow time for such thing, Sailor Venus."

It was weird to hear him say her name without she telling it to him.

"That's a sad way to live, General." Venus said.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Love is the strength that can carry you through life. Without love, there is no strength and no hope."

Kunzite smiled, "I love my prince and my Kingdom, Sailor Venus. That's enough for me."

Venus suddenly felt someone moving suspiciously at the back of the ballroom. She looked through her mask to see a few attendants among many that seemed somewhat suspicious. Concerned for her princess, she decided to part from Kunzite.

"Sorry but I have to leave." Venus curtsied and then walked away from Kunzite. Her mind was on a couple of attendants walking swiftly from the back of the ballroom to the hallway.

Kunzite's eyes followed her. He felt as if he was rejected. No woman had walked away from his presence before. He shrugged at his thought. He had no time thinking about this girl anyway. He had a job to do. He walked out of the dance floor, but still kept his eyes on Endymion and his dance partner.

—

Venus followed two servant girls from the ballroom. With her training, it was easy for Venus to follow them without them noticing. Still in her satin golden gown, she followed them along the hallway and upstair behind the curtain. The servants stood over on the balcony looking over the entire ballroom. Venus saw one servant looking out to clear the way for her friend, while the other girl went behind the curtain to get near the rope holding the chandelier. Venus saw the girl pulling a small dagger out, trying to cut the rope. Venus quickly pulled out her chain and took the dagger from the girl. Both girls saw Venus and rushed to take care of her, but Venus was quicker. She knocked out two girls simultaneously, but the sound of the two girls falling on the floor caused the shitennou to notice the incident. Kunzite looked at the other three shitennou to remain at their station, while he went to investigate. Venus immediately transformed and changed into a disguise as a common Terran palace guard. Her hair was put up in a bun. It was a little nerve-wrecking without a mask, but she was skilled at disguise and was sure she could pull it off.

Kunzite walked swiftly to the scene, seeing a palace guard tying hands of two unconscious girls dressed as servants.

"What happened?" Kunzite asked.

"These two were trying to cause a scene. I suspected they were trying to cut off the chandelier's rope, sir."

Kunzite looked at the rope and followed it to the chandelier hanging right above the King and the Queen. Should the girls succeed, it would be disastrous.

"You did a great job. Thank you." Kunzite said, "I will report to the King and the Queen make sure you get well deserved honor."

Kunzite looked at the guard and realized he didn't know this guy, which was strange because Kunzite knew every palace guard's name by heart.

"What's your name?" Kunzite asked.

Venus looked him and said, "You know my name, General."

Kunzite looked at the guard carefully, still sure that he didn't know this man.

Venus, still in the palace guard uniform, walked closer to Kunzite and looked at him straight in the eyes.

"You failed, General. I don't know how these two managed to disguise themselves as palace servants so close to the royals. You have to be more careful."

Kunzite looked at this man. Admittedly, he did fail in his security plan, but he still didn't trust this soldier whose name he couldn't remember yet.

"What's your name, soldier?" Kunzite asked sternly.

"I'm merely doing my job, General." Venus walked past Kunzite but kept her eyes at him while saying this. Seeing those blue eyes, Kunzite suddenly realized that this guard was Sailor Venus.

As she was walking away, she turned back a little to say to Kunzite, "Brute force is not everything, General. You need your brain and gut instinct too."

Typical generals would take that comment as an insult, but Kunzite was pleasantly surprised that for once he met a girl who could do her job independently, and even doing it better than he. Kunzite kept his eyes fixed at Venus as she walked away, leaving Kunzite to take care of the two unconscious traitors.

Venus transformed back to her gown with a mask. She walked back to join Serenity who was now sitting at a table in the ballroom.

"Is everything ok?" Serenity asked.

"I had to take care of something, princess. Everything is ok now," Venus said as she sat down next to her princess. "But I think we should leave as soon as possible."

"Why?"

Venus said, "Someone was trying to harm the King and the Queen. We should get out of here before they are investigating everyone in the palace. We don't want to risk revealing our identities."

Serenity heard her head senshi's words and realized that things were serious now. She nodded and prepared to leave.

Serenity and Venus walked out of the ballroom. Everyone was still enjoying the music and dancing so no one noticed their absence. But before they could get out of the building, Kunzite stopped them.

"Are you leaving?" Kunzite asked without a formal tone showing that he was talking to Venus rather than Serenity.

Serenity and Venus turned to Kunzite.

"We had to go," Venus said. "You know that."

"Did you tell the prince?"

"No, we didn't," Serenity answered. "Please tell him I apologize for leaving early."

"No problem your highness." Kunzite bowed to Serenity.

"I will escort you out of the teleporter," Kunzite offered.

Venus said, "Not necessary, General. You are needed back there. We can take care of ourselves." Venus slightly pushed Serenity to walk forward, and she tailed closely behind.

"Thank you," Kunzite muttered, causing Venus to turn her head back slightly.

Venus looked at him and gave a small nod.

"I'll never forget this day," Kunzite said to Venus.

She nodded again and turned back to follow Serenity. Nobody saw her mischievous smile.

—End of memory—

"I wish I was there to see Kunzite's face when you told him he failed at his duty." Makoto grinned.

"Well, you will never see it. He only showed it to me," Minako winked at her friend, but she quickly changed to her thinking mode and gave a big sighed.

"What's wrong, Minako-chan?" Makoto asked.

"As much fun as these memories are, I don't think they are strong enough to rescue Nate and Ken."

"I hate to admit it, but I agree with you." Makoto nodded slightly. "But we can't lose hope. We'll find the one that will work eventually."

Minako seemed like she was miles away, lost in her thoughts.

Makoto noticed her usually cheerful friend's change of mood and she realized that recalling memory about Kunzite must have some kind of effect on her friend.

"Are you ok, Minako-chan? Do you want to come to my place? I will make you dinner," Makoto offered.

Minako was considering it for a minute. It was always a comfort to be with Makoto, with her delicious food, cozy apartment and strong fighting attitude. But today Minako felt like reminiscing about the past. She knew she shouldn't dwell on it too much, but recalling the memory of how they first met triggered all suppressed emotions to resurface. And she needed to deal with her emotions on her own.

"Thank you, Mako-chan, but I think I'm just gonna go home tonight."

"But we are not supposed to be alone. I promised Artemis to stay with you the whole time."

"I'm just going home. Tell Artemis to come if he's concerned." Minako gave a forced smile. Makoto knew at that moment that her friend was determined to sort things out on her own for a while.

"I'll tell Artemis that. And call me if you need anything." Makoto put her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"I will." Minako was glad to have her sister-in-arms supporting her like this. She turned her back and headed to the direction of her house, leaving Makoto to look at her friend's silhouette slowly disappearing.

—

AN. I know the masquerade ball is kind of a cliché, but for some reason I keep seeing Kunzite and Venus first met at the ball. So there you go! Thank you, Moonprincess998 , persian85033 , and Guest for suggestions about K/V scene. You helped fuel my thinking :)

Also this one is a little short, but don't worry. More K/V scenes are coming soon.

Thank you all of you who follow and fav this story. Your reviews are my great motivators.

Special thanks to:

Moonprincess998 : I'm glad you liked Jup/Neph scene. They are both tough fighters so I thought it would be fun to have them meet for the first time in a duel.

KageNoNeko : I know there are quite a low of Ami/Zac scenes. I actually didn't plan it that way. I'm more of a Jup/Nep fan. Which couple do you like the most? I can try focusing on them more. Toward the end would be mostly focused on V/K and M/J, but who know what kind of inspiration will strike me again?

James Birdsong: Thank you. Glad you like the story.

persian85033 : Glad you liked the surprise Nephrite got in the duel. It was really fun writing that chapter.


	26. Soul bond

Chapter 26: Soul bond

Minako parted with Makoto and went straight home. She threw herself onto her bed, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. So much has happened. So many memories. Should she forget the past? For a short while, back when Zac, Nate and Junichi came back into their lives with no past life memories, Minako was glad. It was finally a chance for them to rewrite their stories, but then Ferdinand showed up and ruined everything. Now the shitennou were back with painful memories. Yes, they may be able to work things out, but seeing what happened between Rei and Junichi, writing a new story seemed out of the question right now. Those memories are too painful to be ignored.

Sometimes she envied her friends that they at least got to spend some time with the shitennou without their past memories. What would it be like to get to know your beloved again? Minako longed for the feeling of meeting her soulmate and falling in love. Meeting your soulmate for the first time was an incredibly important event for Venusians. They believed everyone had a soulmate, that someone that was their other half. They didn't know who this person was beforehand, but once they met them, they would know almost instantly that this person was their soulmate. Venusians did not get into relationships unless they believed the other person was their soulmate. She still remembered when she first met Kunzite, how she knew right away that he was her soulmate, but he was not a Venusian, so he didn't possess the ability to see their bond. It was exhilarating getting to know him and see if he's feeling the same. It would have been so much easier if her soulmate was a Venusian. They would know right away and they would fall in love. But for some reason she was glad her soulmate wasn't a Venusian because now she got to get to know him and have him known her and see if he would really fall in love with her even when he didn't know they were soulmates.

She longed for that feeling, but fate ripped that opportunity from her. Now she would never know what it would be like to meet Kunzite without his past life memories. Much worse, she might not get to be with him ever again.

Mina sat up on her bed and reached inside her skirt pocket. She pulled out a golden locket with a gold necklace attached. She looked at it carefully and thought about how this locket represented her bond with Kunzite.

—memory—

It was a usual Friday night for Venus and Kunzite. She accompanied Serenity to earth every Friday. They usually just enjoyed each other company while looking after the royal couples from nearby, but today Venus also had something more in mind.

Kunzite's arms wrapped around her waist and held her from behind. She leaned into his embrace.

"I know I should be grateful to spend Fridays with you, but —." Kunzite uttered.

"But what, dear?" She asked.

"I want more. I want to spend more time with you. Now I truly understand Endymion's feeling when Serenity's not here." Kunzite bent down to look at Venus.

"I have a solution for that, general." Venus turned to face him. She grinned like a little girl and hid something behind her back.

"What are you planning, Aphrodite?"

"A way to alleviate the torture we're facing ." Venus pulled out a heart-shaped locket with one side gold and the other side silver.

"What is it?" Kunzite asked.

"This is how we can be together." She separated the locket in half. She gave the silver half to Kunzite.

"Open it," she said with a grin.

Kunzite opened his half heart-shaped locket to see that it became a full heart with his South Kingdom emblem on one side and Venus's on the other.

"Mine is the same, except that it's gold." Venus opened her golden locket and revealed a full heart-shaped locket bearing the same two symbols of their Kingdoms.

Venus closed her locket and placed it in Kunzite's hand and pulled her long golden hair to one side of the neck and turned her back so that Kunzite could put the locket over her neck.

She turned her front to meet his eyes.

"These are Venusian soul-bond lockets. Have you heard of it?" Venus asked.

Kunzite shook his head.

Venus smiled. "As you know, Venusians are completely dedicated to love. But of course there are times when couples have to be apart, for work, for study, for war, so they use these lockets to bind their souls together." Venus touched the half heart-shaped locket hanging down her neck.

Kunzite looked closely at the locket in his hand and seemed to be thinking pretty hard. "How?"

"We each have one and we can see each other in the dream."

Kunzite narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips in thoughts. Venus continued to explain.

"The two lockets are made together as a set. I designed and had the craftsman on Venus made and sent them to me. When we wear these and think about each other at night before falling asleep, we will see each other in the dream."

Kunzite was intrigued.

"But it's not like usual dreams where we had no control over them. These dreams are soul-bond dreams, so it will be like we actually see each other. We can say, act and do anything we want. It will be like we really are with each other. The memories, the sensation, the experience will be as real as if we are meeting in real life."

"That's — quite difficult to comprehend. You mean the dream will feel so real like reality?"

Venus shook her head lightly. "It's not like a reality. It's a form of reality.

"You're confusing me even more, love."

Venus smiled at Kunzite. "Love is about the feeling as much as the physical. So when we spend time together in these soul-bond dreams, we have freewill to act, that's why these dreams are actually a form of reality. Just not in physical realm. We will retain memories when we wake up. So in that sense, it's not so different from a reality as you know it, right?"

"Do all planets have something like this? Now I feel earth is too primitive." Kunzite looked at his locket.

"No, only on Venus," she said. "You see, it's about the power of belief as well. Venusians believe strongly in the power of love and we believe that love transcends the physical. So if two souls bind together, we can be together regardless of our place in the physical realms.

"So do you contact your family this way too?"

"No, this is only for romantic relationship. We only get them made for our soulmates." Venus finished the sentence and realized what she had just said.

Kunzite looked at her fondly. "You've never called me your soulmate before."

"As a Venusian, we don't get into romantic relationships unless we believe they are our soulmates." Venus smiled.

Kunzite smiled back at her.

"Do Terrans believe in soulmates?"

"Some people do. I didn't." Kunzite said.

"But I do now." He then kissed her.

Since that night, they were spending time together in their dreams almost every night except for when either of them had nightshift duties. These nighttime meetings actually helped both leaders feel rather calm about their situation and not anxious like other senshi and shitennou. Several weeks later, they talked about this on their usual Friday meeting.

"Everyone, especially Jupiter wondered how I can be so calm only seeing you once a week." Venus chuckled.

"Me too. Other shitennou think I'm just a heartless, cold person because I'm not acting love-sick all the time."

"Are you?" Venus asked.

"Am I what?"

"Love-sick with me?"

"You know the answer, love. Please don't make me say it out loud." It was a rare sight to see the head shitennou blushed.

"But I want to hear you say it." Venus grinned.

Kunzite cupped her face with his hands. "I'm hopelessly in love with you, Venus." Kunzite felt blood rushing to his cheeks. "But don't tell anyone I said that. It would ruin my image of a tough, stoic leader." Kunzite smiled.

Venus was happy to see his warm and soft side that he never allowed anyone else to see. "Don't worry. You are always a strong and stern leader in the eyes of the other senshi and the princess."

"And they really believe you fall in love with a cold-hearted solider like me? Kunzite chuckled.

"It was hard for them to believe at first, but they know that as Sailor Venus, I would know who my soulmate is." Venus smiled at him.

"Plus nobody knows we see each other every night in our dreams. It's our little secret." Venus said.

"Not even the princess?" Kunzite asked.

"Of course not! Otherwise she would beg me to get ones for her and Endymion," Venus said. "But only Venusians and their partners can have soul-bond dreams.

"So consider yourself lucky you're in love with a Venusian." Venus touched his nose slightly.

Kunzite smiled at her, but then his face suddenly turned more serious.

"I have something to tell you," he said firmly. "I have to go into the war against the Resistance next week. I want you to keep my locket." He handed it to Venus.

"Why?" Venus looked confused.

"In war, I don't know what will happen. If I'm captured, I don't want anyone to be able to connect me to you. They might try to use you against me or vice versa," Kunzite explained. "I don't want to put you in danger."

"You will not be defeated, Kunzite." Venus said.

"You're senshi, Venus. We all know how uncertain war can be. I just want to eliminate any possibility that they could harm you."

"Are you sure? If we still keep contact, maybe I can help you."

Kunzite shook his head, "My spy said that the Resistance can manipulate people's mind. I'm afraid what might happen if they can actually do that to me."

Kunzite touched Venus's shoulders, looked her directly in the eyes and said, "Should something happen to me, should they be able to control me, do not hesitate to kill me."

"How can you say that? You're strong, Kunzite. Nothing like that will happen."

"Promise me." Kunzite asked sternly.

"No, I won't. I'm never going to kill you, Kunzite. Even if you are corrupted by some evil power, I will help you."

Kunzite parted from Venus and stepped forward, "I've felt for a long time that Terran's minds are weaker than those from other planets. We are easily manipulated by love, hate, greed and envy. And even though I feel that I've trained myself to be sufficiently strong-minded, we still can't underestimate the power of Beryl and her people. For some reasons, they had gained people's force really quickly. Previously trusted nobles, soldiers, and servants had fallen under their control. I know it's unlikely but I can't deny the possibility that I could become one of them."

Venus rushed forward and looked at Kunzite, "Do you really think the situation is that serious? I've never seen you anxious like this before."

"Two of my most trusted soldiers had betrayed me, and I almost got badly injured because of that. At this point, it seems like no one can really be trusted anymore."

Venus looked worried.

"But I'm still confident that we will win this war," Kunzite said. "But as a careful warrior, I just need to think of every possible scenario."

"I know you are careful. But don't you need me for moral support?"

"Think about it, dear. If, for some disastrous way, they could control my mind, if I still held on to the locket, I might ask you for secret information or trick you into doing something. I don't want them to be able to harm you through my mind."

"But —"

"Please, Venus. I can't go into this war knowing that there is a chance for you to be harmed. I want to protect you in every way possible."

"I understand." Venus nodded, although in her heart she hated the idea of not being able to contact him.

"Don't worry. I will come get it right after we finish this war. You know I can't be away from you for too long anyway." He smiled at her.

—end of memory—

Minako remembered the last day on the moon. Remember that she was still wearing the locket while she was thrusting her sword to Kunzite.

Sometimes she wondered what would have happened had Kunzite hold on to their lockets. Would he be able to warn her about the war between the earth and the moon? Or would Beryl use him against her even more so that she did? Would things turn out better or worse? But the die had been cast. Their fates had been decided and nothing would change that.

Minako always kept the two lockets connected in her jewelry box. But since the shitennou in their civilian forms had come into their lives, she had been carrying the lockets with her at all times, hoping that she would meet Kunzite in his civilian form one day. But that didn't happen. She was there too late. While fighting, she slipped his part of the locket into his uniform pocket. She didn't know exactly why she did that. He didn't remember her. And the locket would not change anything, but deep down she was hoping that it would help him remember her.

—

In a cave near D point.

"Kunzite," Nephrite called his comrade. "If we are truly helping Endymion, then why does it feel —?"

"Wrong?" Kunzite said.

Nephrite nodded. Kunzite knew what his friend meant. Yes, what Ferdinand told them made perfect sense. Endymion and two of his shitennou were controlled by the Moon Princess and the senshi. Yes, women could have so much power over men. Yes, it was possible that Lunarians wanted to destroy or take over the Earth. But Sailor Jupiter and Venus were plotting to kill them? This part no longer made sense. Not that he remembered what kind of relationship they had with Jupiter and Venus during Silver Millennium. They only remembered Jupiter and Venus as Serenity's sailor guardians. But somehow, Kunzite felt like something more was brewing underneath.

"How can we trust Ferdinand more than Endymion?" Nephrite asked.

"It's because if we are truly loyal to him, we will rescue him for whatever Lunar spell he is under," Ferdinand walked over to the two shitennou. "I know it is hard to disobey his command, but to be truly loyal to him is to help him despite his order because we know better. We know what the Lunarians are planning."

Kunzite and Nephrite acknowledged what Ferdinand said, but they were still thinking.

"Brothers, I'm as loyal to Endymion as much as you are. And I don't want to see him being played by that Moon witch!"

Ferdinand continued, "if we merely follow Endymion's order, do not care the consequences his orders will bring, then we are disloyal to our kingdom, and to him. As his good friends and guardians, our duty is to protect him from falling into the wrong path."

"Weren't there times when Endymion wanted to give up on training? What did you do then?" Ferdinand asked Kunzite.

"We didn't let him give up because we knew he had to be a competent fighters for himself and for the kingdom," Kunzite said sternly.

"Exactly," Ferdinand looked at both shitennou.

"We will stand by him and bring him to the correct path of protecting earth," Ferdinand said while the two shintennou nodded.

Ferdinand then walked away, leaving Kunzite and Nephrite contemplating what his brother-in-arms said.

—

Needing some time to think, that night Kunzite was wandering around the stone castle carved in the deep dark cave. This felt familiar to him. He felt it in his heart that this was not the first time he was here in this place. But when? For the life of him, he couldn't remember being here, but his guts said otherwise.

What Ferdinand said rang true to him, but something felt wrong. Logically, what Ferdinand said made sense. Endymion seemed to be in control of Serenity or to be accurate her reincarnation. The senshi were of course on Serenity's side. They were trying to control him, and they got Jadeite and Zoicite. They had to fight to get Endymion back.

But a certain senshi with a golden blonde hair in a yellow fuku made him doubt this mission. The way she looked at him. It was not with hateful intention, but it was — warmth, longing, and yes, loving.

But how could that be? He didn't even know who she was. The more he thought about it, the crazier it made him. His instinct told him that he used to be at the Dark Kingdom, that he used to know this blonde senshi, that things were — different.

He looked at the snowstorm outside the cave. He put his hands in his uniform pocket. His right hand met with something cold. He pulled it out and saw a silver locket, that looks like a half of a heart-shaped. It looked familiar, but his memory wouldn't cooperate. He opened it and see that it was a heart-shaped with two symbols on each side, one is his South Kingdom emblem and the other one is Venus's.

What kind of relationship did he and Venus have? They couldn't just be enemies or fellow warriors? Why else would he had a locket with their symbols? He wasn't sure how he even got the locket in the first place, but it seemed right. It seemed like something he used to hold dear. Was Venus playing a trick on him? Did she slip it in while they were fighting? Was this another one of Lunarian scheme to get him to their side?

These thoughts made him exhausted. Confusing memories, painful emotions mixed with loving feeling. This was all too confusing for him. He put the locket back into his pocket and then walked back to the castle, determined to go to sleep and lay these thoughts to rest for a while.

—

AN. Thank you for all of you who keep reading. Hope you like this chapter.

Lucky's Girl: I'm so glad you like how Jupiter and Venus met the shitennou. Hope you'll like this memory too. (Also, are you J/N fan like I am?)

Moonprincess998: Glad you like the ball scene. I was worried it was completely played out. The focus will be on V/K for a few chapters. So hope you like it.

persian85033 : I know! I thought it would be funny to see Kunzite failed at his duty for once. Venus could teach him a few lesson!

MCWildflowers : Glad you like the story. Thank you for reading :)

Your favs and reviews are always motivating. Keep them coming. I love to hear your thoughts. :)


	27. First date (?)

Chapter 27: First date (?)

Minako was in her yellow sleeveless dress. It was the perfect summer dress for a date, except that she wasn't on one. She was meeting Junichi at the cafe, assuming that Junichi wanted to discuss how to win Rei's heart or something. She was there early, so she waited in front of the cafe, near the sidewalk. She leaned against the wall and waited for her friend.

Ken was walking down the street, heading to the cafe where his brother had told him to meet and then go to the movie together afterwards. Just before he reached the cafe, his mobile rang.

"Hey Junichi. I'm almost there," Ken said with haste, assuming that his brother, whose patience's usually low, was already waiting for him.

"Change of plan, bro. I can't make it. But you can take my friend, Minako to the movie instead. She's at the cafe already. She's got a long blonde hair with a red bow. You can't miss her sun-shining cheerful personality. Have fun!"

"Junichi, what do you —." It was too late, his brother already hung up the phone. Annoyed at his little brother, always pulling pranks on him, he tried to call back but Junichi wouldn't pick up. He thought about just going home by himself, but then he didn't want to stand the girl up either. Who knew what prank his brother was pulling on the poor girl this time. At least he should just go to the cafe and apologize for this brother's behavior.

Ken reached the cafe. Junichi was right. There was no way anyone could have missed Minako. She stood brightly and cheerfully in front of the cafe as if she's waiting for a close friend. He was hoping his brother didn't break this little poor girl's heart.

Minako heard the text message. She read it, "Sorry Minako but I have to bail. My brother will take you to the movie instead and maybe dinner (if you ask him). I know you two are going to hit it off. Have fun!"

Minako, on one hand, wanted to kill Junichi for making her getting up so early (for Minako 9 AM is early) on Sunday and then ditched her. But then again she couldn't help but want to see what Junichi's brother was like.

After reading the text, she looked up and saw Ken.

_Kunzite._

Ken walked up to Minako and said, "Are you Junichi's friend, Minako?"

Minako was stunned for a few seconds. Is it really Kunzite in front of her?

Minako snapped out of her trance and said, "Yes, I'm Minako."

"I'm Ken, Junichi's brother. He just called me and said he couldn't make it."

"He just sent me a text as well."

Seriously standing a girl up with a text? Junichi's going to get a serious scolding on how he treated a girl. Although on one hand, he wonders what Junichi's relationship with this girl is? She was kind of cute. But he kept pushing that thought aside. He had to apologize to this poor girl appropriately.

"It is hot out here. Would like to go inside for iced tea or something?" Ken asked.

"Sure, it's hot like hell out here. And it's not even July yet!"

They both walked inside the cafe. They sat down at a round table near the window. They both ordered an iced tea.

"Ah," Minako exclaimed as she sipped the iced tea. "Iced tea is so good for a hot summer day like this."

Ken was admiring her cheerful fun side. Most women would be so grumpy in this hot of a weather, and being stood up. But this girl seemed in no way bothered by the fact that Junichi had just bailed. Maybe they weren't on a date. There's only one way to find out.

"I'm so sorry about my brother. He is kind of immature. He does things when he feels like it." Ken lowered his head slightly to apologize for his brother.

"That's ok," Minako waved her hand. "I know Junichi's like that. That's why he would make a good boyfriend for Rei."

"Rei?"

"Oh, my friend, Rei. She has a tough and serious exterior, but Junichi can really bring forth her fun side." Minako said as she was taking another sip of tea.

"So you and Junichi are not—?" Ken asked.

"Oh God no!" Minako waved her hand. "We're just friends. He usually wants me to help out about Rei. I just helped him pick out her birthday gift last week."

Ken sighed. "Oh good, I thought my brother stood you up on a date or something. I was going to scold him seriously for this." Ken chuckled.

He didn't know why he felt relieved that his brother and this girl were not seeing each other. Maybe he just felt less guilty for his brother's behavior?

"Jun talked about you a lot, Ken." Minako said.

"I hope it's all good stuffs." He chuckled.

"I don't know. Maybe you'll have to find out for yourself." Minako grinned.

Ken looked at Minako. Is she flirting with him? Ken was no stranger as a target for a girl's affection. He was quite popular at his school, but he didn't really care for any girl in particular. But for some reason, this girl intrigued him.

"Jun told me you are a high school senior," Minako said.

"Yes, I'm in my last year of high school. I'm studying at a high school back in our hometown in Kyushu. But I'm hoping to come to Tokyo for college next year," Ken said.

"Jun would be thrilled to have you here. He misses you a lot."

"Really? He said that?" Ken was surprised. He rarely heard his brother showing him any affection (except for the good-nature brother bickering).

"Oops! Maybe I wasn't supposed to say that. Forget about it, ok?" Minako said.

"I wouldn't say this to him, but I'm glad he's missing me."

"Are you kidding? He worships you. He wants so much to be like you." Minako propped her chin in the palm of her right hand. "You are his idol."

Ken blushed a little. It was great to know that his brother felt so strongly about him. Ken always tried to be the best big brother he could be. He's sometimes afraid that he was too protective that he might have annoyed his little brother.

"How did you meet Jun? I know you couldn't meet at school because Jun's going to all-boy school." Ken tried to change the focus from himself.

"We met through mutual friends. Jun was so infatuated with Rei but Rei was — kind of hard to approach, so I had to help him out." Minako said.

Minako was staring at Ken for a few seconds. Ken noticed and asked, "Something wrong?"

"You are so different from Jun," Minako answered. "Jun's so playful, and you are more — serious." Minako looked at Ken.

"People say I'm too boring, compared to Jun."

"But you are an older brother, right? The eldest one is usually the more serious one." Minako took another sip of tea.

"Do you have any brother or sister?"

"Nope, I'm the only child," Minako answered. "I used to wish I had sisters though."

"You don't wish that anymore?"

"Well, now I have four close friends that I consider my sisters. So in a way I already have sisters and not just one, but four." Minako said.

Ken felt so much fun just talking to this girl. He wondered why. He usually didn't enjoy chitchat or small talks. He didn't even like getting to know new people. It was not that he wasn't friendly, but he preferred to be with people he knew well rather than making friends with someone new. But this girl made it so easy to talk to her. He wondered if she did this with everyone she met. Probably. That thought sunk his heart a little.

Ken originally wanted to treat this girl to an iced tea, apologize for his brother and then leave. But now he found himself wanting to hang out with her as long as possible.

"Hmm, I have two tickets to the movie this afternoon. Would like to join me?" Ken brought the ticket from his pocket.

"I'd love to." Minako smiled. "What's the movie?"

"I don't know actually. Jun just gave them to me this morning. Let's see. It's 'Sailor V.'

Minako chuckled. This should be fun.

—

Ken and Minako were walking out of the movie theater.

"I had no idea you are a movie star!" Ken said.

"I wouldn't say a star." Minako said.

"Who would have thought I was watching a movie with the lead actress?" Ken smiled.

"I'm not acting anymore though. I'm done with that. I filmed this movie about a year ago, and they just finished editing and released it now."

"Why did you retire from acting? Don't you like it?"

Minako looked up to the sky as she was saying, "I like acting. And I'd love to go back to acting again but now I have something more important."

Ken hardly believed something else would be so important that would make a beautiful talented girl like Minako quit acting, but it didn't seem like something he should ask on the first date. That is, if he could count this as a date.

"You were great in it, Minako." Ken turned to face her. "I hope to see your next film soon."

Minako smiled back at him. If only he knew who they were, acting would be the last thing on his mind.

It was almost five o'clock. But Ken didn't want today to end just yet. He couldn't believe himself on what he was going to say.

"Would you like to have dinner with me?" Ken asked and he felt embarrassed. Despite being a popular good-looking high school senior, he'd never asked a girl out. He simply didn't want to. But now no force could stop him from spending time with this girl.

Minako smiled. She thought about how cute he was being embarrassed when he tried to do something romantic. Kunzite was always like that. He didn't like to show his emotion, but he tried to show it to her anyway. And when he did, he was beyond adorable. He was like a teenage boy in love for the first time, well in this case, he actually was. But even back when he was a full-grown military leader, he still acted like a little teenage boy in front of her.

"What'd you have in mind?" Minako asked.

—

They went to a family-style restaurant with karaoke. It was not the most romantic place in the world, but it seemed suitable for two teenagers to relax and get to know each other.

There he learned that she was a great singer too. She confided to him that she wanted to be a singer, but she was putting that dream on hold for now. He wondered what would be so important that made Minako put her dream on hold. This time curiosity got the best of him.

"So what is so important that mades you put your dreams on hold?" He asked, trying not to be too serious.

Minako looked at him. She wanted so much to tell him. To tell him that she was Sailor Venus, that she had carried her duty of protecting Princess Serenity from the past, that she was now protecting earth too, that she wantsedto find him. Yes, to find him was one of the reasons she put her dreams on hold. She got a glimpse of living that dream for a while, and it didn't matter if people whom she held dear were not there.

Ken noticed Minako lost in her thought. "You don't have to tell me," Ken said. Minako looked back at him. He still knew how to read her.

"One day I will tell you." Minako smiled at him.

Ken felt his heart blossomed when she said that. It meant they will see each other again, right?

As much fun as it was spending time with her, it was getting late. He had to take her home.

He walked her to her house.

"I— I had a great time today." Ken said, feeling a little shy.

Minako loved when he's acting like this. It reminded her that underneath all the stoic solider exterior was still a little boy.

"I had a great time too." She smiled.

"Well — Good night, Minako." Ken nodded his head, preparing to leave.

"Good night, Ken." She pulled out her house key from her purse and started to unlock the door.

Ken mustered his courage and asked, "Can I — take you out again sometime?"

Minako turned back and smiled. "I'd like that very much."

—

Minako felt happy, but at the same time her tears were rolling down her cheeks. She felt something warm and wet on her cheeks. She woke up and realized that Artemis was licking her tears. She looked fondly at her feline companion.

"Minako, are you ok?" Artemis looked at her. "You were crying in your sleep."

"I'm ok, Artemis." She sat up on her bed. "I just had a dream."

"Bad dream?"

"No, it was a good dream. Sweet dream." Minako answered while staring at the wall.

"Then why were you crying?" Artemis asked.

Minako's voice trembled as she answered, "I don't know. Maybe because it could only be a dream."

Artemis jumped up and sat in Minako's lap. She was glad to have the support from her feline advisor. As she was going to pet him, she realized she was holding something in her hand.

She opened her hand and saw the golden locket inside her palm. Was she thinking about Kunzite so much that she dreamed of him? Or was it our soul-bond dream? She shook away that thought. Kunzite hadn't remembered her. No way this was a soul-bond dream. It must be just her subconscious dream imagining how her and Ken's first meeting would be like had Ferdinand not interfered. She couldn't dwell on it now. She had to get up and join everyone at the shrine. They had a lot of work to do.

—

At the Dark Kingdom, Kunzite woke up from his dream. He must have felt asleep thinking about her. He opened his palm and saw the silver locket. That was a vivid dream he had. But he was confused. Who was Minako? Who was Ken? He felt as if he was this Ken guy, but he couldn't remember being a high school student, nor Ken's brother, Junichi. And this girl, Minako. He felt like he had known her before, but at the same time not. He felt so fed up with his muddled memories. He had to know what had happened, and once Kunzite set out to do something, he was determined to get it done.

—

AN. Another chapter on Mina/Ken. I'm kind of in a writer's block. I know how the story will unfold, but the words do not flow as I would like them to, but hopefully the new season of Sailor Moon Crystal will get me back in the writing mood.

Thank you for all of you who read and fav this story. I'm also happy to know that someone's reading it ^_^

Special thanks to persian85033, Moonprincess998,Sage McGavin and Guest for review.


	28. The plan

Chapter 28: The plan

Everyone gathered at the shrine the next day.

Makoto met Minako on the way to the shrine.

"How are you doing, Minako?" Makoto asked her dear friend, knowing they were facing the same predicament.

Minako nodded slightly. "I'm ok. How about you, Mako-chan?"

Makoto replied with similar nod. "I'm tired but ok. I'm worried about you Minako."

Minako waved her hand in front of Makoto's face. "You have enough to worry about. Don't worry about me too."

Makoto said, "It's just — I've rarely seen you like this. The last time was —"

"On the moon. When I heard Kunzite was captured," Minako said.

Makoto felt sorry for bringing up this sore spot, but she was genuinely worried about her leader.

"We will get through this, Mako-chan," Minako said with determined look. "We always do."

Makoto knew her leader senshi was trying to be strong for her and everyone else, but being in the same shoes, she knew how much pain the senshi of love was going through.

"You don't have to act strong with me, Minako." Makoto stopped walking and looked at Minako.

"We have to be strong, Mako-chan," Minako said. "For everyone."

Makoto looked at the sapphire blue eyes and knew that her friend was serious. Even with her own suffering of losing her own soulmate, Minako was still trying to be strong for everyone. This was what truly makes her the leader of the senshi.

Makoto nodded slightly.

"Promise me you will be strong in front of everyone. They need us to be strong," Minako touched Makoto's shoulders. "Then if we must. We can cry about it later, together." Minako looked softly at her brunette friend.

Once again, the senshi of love reminded her that out of all the senshi, Venus and Jupiter were supposed to be the strongest. They had always felt that way. It was their responsibility to be strong. Mercury was the brain, planning and strategizing everything for the group. Mars was the seer, foretelling how things would turn out and see through people's intention. Jupiter and Venus were the strongest. Working together, they were unstoppable. They knew that the everyone relied on them to lead in every fight. They had to get it together. They couldn't have everyone worried about them.

"Sometimes I wish I was as strong as you, Minako." Makoto said.

"You are strong, Mako-chan," Minako said. "You just don't realize it yet."

"I promise you. I will be strong," Makoto said. "For everyone."

"That's my strongest senshi!" Minako hugged Makoto, and they walked up the stairs to the shrine together.

Mamoru, Usagi, Ami, Rei, Zac, Junichi and the two felines sat around in a circle in the shrine's empty ground. They all noticed two girls approaching to complete the group.

Usagi shouted out, "Mako-chan! Minako-chan!" She waved her hand cheerfully.

"I'm surprised you didn't wait to come here with Minako." Luna whispered to Artemis.

"She wanted me to come here first." Artemis said. "And I know better not to argue with her when she is — depressed."

"She doesn't look depressed to me." Luna said, looking at the cheerful blonde hugging her princess, commenting Usagi on her outfit, and snatching food from Makoto's bento box.

"You don't know her like I do." Artemis said, looking sadly at his partner, knowing that anytime Minako was extra cheerful, that meant she was sad and depressed. But Minako's defense mechanism was to be cheerful and optimistic about everything. She liked to lighten everyone's world, even when her own was dark.

"It's great that you two are finally here," Junichi said with a smugly smile, bringing everyone's attention to him.

"Let the prince tell them, Jun." Zac elbowed his friend.

"How many time have I told you to stop calling me prince?" Mamoru scolded at Zac and Jun.

"Sorry." Zac apologized. "You want to do the honor, Mamoru?"

Mamoru nodded and said "Zac and Jun finally figured out how to transform."

"That's fantastic!" Minako jumped and clapped her hands. Makoto's eyes were widen with surprise.

"And they can use their power now." Ami chimed in.

"Still need a lot more practice, but at least we won't hinder you in a fight anymore," Zac said.

"Don't be too humble, Zac. You two are going to help us, big time!" Usagi said with her usual smile.

"So how did you do it?" Minako asked.

"You'd better show them." Mamoru said to his two newly-awaken shitennou.

Zac and Jun grabbed their stones from their pockets. They put the stones in front of themselves. Then muttered incantations.

Suddenly they were both enveloped by lights and when the light stopped. Zoicite and Jadeite were standing in front of everyone.

"Wow!" Minako exclaimed.

"But wait! There's more!" Jadiete said while holding a blue ball of fire in between his two hands. Then he extended the space between his hands, the blue fire ball growing larger and larger. He then threw the fire ball into the piles of brown leaves on the floor. The leaves caught fire and disappeared within seconds, leaving almost no ashes behind.

Zoicite manifested his bow made of ice in his hand. He drew the bow and the icicle arrow appeared. He made an aim and fired it off, perfectly hit the wooden target set near the tree.

"Wow! You guys are good!" Makoto said.

"Now all we need is a plan." Luna said.

Ami stepped a little forward and said, "Zac and I have been thinking about this, and we think that the best way is to go together at the same time. Zoicite and Jadiete will take care of Nephrite and Kunzite. They knew their weaknesses, even if Zoicite and Jadeite can't defeat them, they can at least stall them for a while. And the rest of us will protect Sailor Moon. Tuxedo Mask is the best last line of defense for Sailor Moon because Ferdinand wanted to spare your life if possible, and you might be able to reason with him and see what's going on.

"All four of us," Ami looked at Rei, Minako, and Makoto. "Will be with Sailor Moon at all time and we'll attack Ferdinand. Once he's weak enough, you can use your power to finish him off."

"And once Zoicite and Jadeite took care of Kunzite and Nephrite, they can join us in fighting with Ferdinand."

Everybody was contemplating the plan.

Mamoru spoke up first, "That sounds alright but what if Zoi and Jade can't take care of Nephrite and Kunzite?"

"I understand you doubt about our abilities to fight Nephrite and Kunzite because both of our powers are more defensive than theirs. But in this plan we are just trying to stall them and stop them from helping Ferdinand. We are just buying time for the senshi and you to kill Ferdinand."

"Then what happen to Nephrite and Kunzite?" Makoto asked.

"We are hoping that they will return to their normal selves once Ferdinand is eliminated."

Minako and Makoto nodded. Everyone seemed to agree with this plan. If things go as planned, they will protect Serenity and rescue Ken and Nate as well. In the end, things will be alright again. But Minako couldn't shake the feeling that something was not right with this plan.

"Now that we have a plan. We should practice our fighting and attacks so that we can defeat Ferdinand." Luna said.

Zoicite and Jadeite detransformed and were together discussing how to stall Kunzite and Nephrite. Mamoru joined them as he knew all their abilities. Ami, Rei, Usagi, Makoto and Minako were together planning.

"I was thinking that I can start with charbon spray to obscure his vision, then Mars or Jupiter could …." But Minako seemed like a million miles away.

—

By the end of that evening, everybody was exhausted. They had been training all day. The training ground at the shrine had been burned, electrocuted, strangled, whipped, flooded, and froze so many times no one could count.

Minako was back at her apartment again. This time with Makoto.

"Thanks for staying with me, Mako-chan."

"Please." Makoto waved her hand. "I'm happy you asked me to. It's not like I want to be alone anyway."

"I made up the guest bedroom for you. It's right next to my room. I will show you."

"Your house is huge, Minako. I could get lost here."

"My parents are staying abroad a lot. Honestly, I had no idea why they bought such a big house. It feels kind of lonely staying here by myself."

"You should invite us here more often then." Makoto winked.

Minako brought Makoto to her room for the night. Makoto was amazed by the size of the room. It was easily two or three times bigger than her apartment, and this was only a guest room!

Before leaving Makoto's room, Minako said, "And you're welcome to use the kitchen by the way."

Makoto giggled, "I was going to ask that."

"Good night, Mako-chan."

"Good night, Minako-chan. I'm here if you need anything."

"That's my line. I'm the host!"

"You know what I mean." Makoto looked softly at her friend.

"I know." Minako nodded. "Thanks." She forced a smile and then disappeared into her room.

—

AN. Sorry for the short chapter. It just seems right to end here before moving to the next section. Reviews and comments are welcome. You can write reviews or PM me. Love to hear what you think.

And thank you again for you wonderful readers who favorited and reviewed this story. :)


	29. Signs from wind and sky

Chapter 29: Signs from wind and sky

For Makoto, staying at Minako's was nice. It was comforting to know that one of her best friends was in the next room, but sleep still eluded her. Tossing and turning in her bed for a while, she gave up and decided to take a walk in the garden. She knew she was more in her element when surrounded by plants anyway, maybe some time alone with the nature would help calm her down.

_The sky is so clear tonight. He would have liked a night like this. _Makoto thought of her stargazer boyfriend. His face brought up loving feeling, but at the same time terrifying. What if he would forever be gone from her life? She didn't know what to do. She had to face him as Nephrite in a few days. She knew they had plan to stall Nephrite and Kunzite until they finish off Ferdinand, and hope that would be enough to rescue them both. But what if it's not enough? What if things don't go as planned? What if Ferdinand was stronger than they had estimated? What if Nephrite and Kunzite tried to kill Usagi? What if she had to kill him? Again. That thought gave a chill down her spine. She didn't want to kill her love again. Not again. Makoto felt as if her fate had always been in someone else's hands. Her parents were taken from her since she was young, ruining the warm family life she could have had. Now that she had her love back in her life again, fate had to take him away, pitting him against her. And he might be lost to her forever.

While Makoto was contemplating her options, a strong breeze started blowing. She felt the leaves moving. She closed her eyes and took in the smell of green lives around her. As the wind enveloped her, she felt the presence of her lover. Makoto had always been able to notice signs from the wind. As she recalled that his element was also wind, and how they used to be able to communicate through wind in the past life, she started to be more alert and feel the wind as it enveloped her body and soul.

_Help me, Makoto. _That voice gave her goosebumps.

Nate? Nephrite? Is this him talking to her through the wind?

_Nate? Is that you?_

_Mako-chan. I'm sorry. I don't know how to get back to being myself. I felt like I'm moving in the other person's body that has a mind of its own._

_Oh Nate! _Her eyes started to tear up.

_Help me, Mako-chan. Free me. _She felt him whispering to her through the wind.

_How? _She pleaded.

_Free me and Kunzite first. You know how, baby. I believe in you._

Then the wind died down, leaving Makoto with renewed determination.

This time she would not lose. Definitely not.

—

Minako was lying warmly in her bed with Artemis lying on the floor. He knew that his partner only pretended to be asleep. He looked at the clock. 4 AM. Was she going to get any sleep at all?

"Minako, you need to get some sleep." Artemis whispered.

Minako sighed. "I'm sorry, Artemis. I can't stop thinking about him."

Minako still lying in her bed with her back turning toward Artemis. He got up and hopped in her bed. He nuzzled her face.

"I know how hard it is for you, Minako. But if we are going to have any chance at wining, you need your strength."

Minako got up with her legs still under the cover. She pet her feline friend slowly on his head. "Thank you, Artemis."

Minako hugged her knees. Her back leaned against the headboard. She couldn't sleep feeling that the plan seemed wrong. Was it her senshi's intuition? As Sailor Venus, she always had sharp intuition, maybe not as clear or predictive into the future as Mars' but good enough to help them fight. Something seemed off. Not that she questioned Ami and Zac's ability to plan. Those two were geniuses, but there might be something they didn't know. What was it?

"Artemis, I don't know what to do."

Artemis remained silent, but turned to meet Mina's gaze.

"This is the time I need you to tell me what to do, Artemis. Tell me what to do!" Minako said.

Artemis replied, "I'm sorry, Minako. But I can't tell you what to do. This is your test. You have to decide for yourself."

"My test, huh?" Mina snorted. Could fate be this cruel? How many tests she must pass before she got to her happy ending?

Artemis knew he couldn't help her much except comforting her. It's at times like these when he wished he could turn into human form at will. Then he could at least give her a hug.

Minako looked out her window. The sun was coming up soon. She saw Venus shone brightly in the sky. How fortuitous! She had just thought about her mother, wondering how nice it would be to have her mother to turn to at a difficult time like this.

"Mother, what should I do?" She pleaded to the planet Venus. She had always thought her duty was to protect Serenity, but her mother had also taught her that as a descendant of Aphrodite, Goddess of love, protecting pure love was her responsibility. Last time she felt like she had neglected her duty as senshi of love and only taken on the duty of Serenity's guardian, and she felt incredibly guilty for that. She felt like she had failed her mother. And the same dilemma was presented to her again. Yes, they planned on rescuing him but she had a feeling that it wouldn't work. Would she have to kill him again? Would she have to betray love for duty again? She didn't want to choose between her duty as senshi of love and sailor guardian.

"Mother, who am I? Senshi of love or Sailor guardian? Which path should I follow now?" She uttered as if she was begging for answer from the planet Venus.

Artemis was looking at Minako when suddenly the light glowed as if it was shone from the planet Venus. On her table appeared an apparition of a regal woman dressed in a long golden gown with long blonde hair and a crown bearing Venus symbol placed on top of her head.

"My dear daughter." The woman said softly yet presented a regal presence.

"Mother!" Minako exclaimed. She leapt out of her bed and knelt down in front of her mother's image that was standing on her coffee table so that her eyes would be on the same level with her mother's. Her mother's image was small and translucent. She knew it was not her real mother. This was the projection of energy from Venus.

Minako started to well up. "Mother, I've missed you so much!"

"Child, I don't have much time." Her mother reached out as if she was going to touch her head to comfort her like how she had always done when they were on Venus together. "I know you are in distress and I wish to help you. I no longer have a physical body but my heart is always with you." Her mother looked longingly at Minako.

"Mother, I have failed you again." Minako hung her head down.

The Queen said, "look at me, child." Minako slowly lifted her head to meet her mother's gaze. "You have not failed. Given the circumstance, you did the right thing ."

"So I was supposed to kill my soulmate? You've always taught me that love can conquer all. How come our love didn't survive this?"

"Venus, there is no force stronger than love, but love doesn't grant you everything you want."

"I don't understand, Mother." Minako shook her head softly.

"What love brings is not always happily ever after, but the bond holding between two persons."

The Queen continued, "Your father and I loved each other very much, but he died protecting me and you, and our planet, remember?"

Minako nodded.

"Before he passed on, I felt his love as he did everything in his power to keep me and you safe."

"I grieved your father's passing, but that doesn't mean our love ended when he died, Venus. We were just not together in physical realm, but he was forever in my heart. His love made me stronger, strong enough to send you to be Sailor Venus on the Moon Kingdom to protect you. Without your father's love, I wouldn't have enough courage to do what I needed to do to keep you safe."

Minako was deep in her thought as she recalled her life before living on the Moon Kingdom.

"You didn't abandon your love when you killed Kunzite."

"I didn't?" Minako looked her mother like a five-year-old looking for comfort from her mom.

"And he didn't abandon his love for you." Minako looked puzzled.

"Think deeply, child. You know in your heart what had happened."

Minako recalled Kunzite warning her about Beryl's mind control power. He had told her to kill him should he fall into Beryl's control.

"Beryl used his love for you to her advantage. She tried to trick him into believing that you didn't really love him, but his mind was strong enough to question her trick. So she had threatened to kill you if he hadn't joined her side."

"He knew that had he not surrender to Beryl, she would have killed you."

Minako's eyes widened. "He surrendered to protect me." Minako uttered.

The Queen nodded. "He knew that you could defeat him in the battle."

Minako said with her eyes staring blankly as she recalled her past. "He let me kill him."

Kunzite was a great warrior, probably the greatest of them all. He had never lost to her once in training or sparring matches. But on the last day on the moon, as difficult as it was emotionally for her to thrust her sword into his body, it was too easy given his skills as a fighter.

Minako teared up. "He let me killed him so that I could live." Minako's tears streamed down heavily. She put her hands to cover her face.

"Why?" She sobbed.

The Queen looked at her daughter, feeling sorry for the pain her child had to go through. "Because he loved you, dear."

"He knew that the only way to keep you safe is to trick Beryl into thinking she could control him. He had fought her control until the end, to make sure you were safe."

"He was strong, dear. No other human could have had fought Beryl's mind control as long as he had."

"But I don't understand! If he had held out, I might be able to save him." Minako cried out.

"He loved you too much to risk your safety for that."

"So am I supposed to just kill him again like last time because that's what he wanted?" Minako asked.

"I can't tell you what to do, child. I only saw the past, not the future. You have to connect with him and decide for yourself."

"But mother!"

"I don't have much energy left, dear. Please know that you have not failed your duty as Sailor Venus and Princess Venus. Believe in yourself, child. You'll make the right decision for the planet, Princess Serenity and yourself." The Queen said with confidence.

"Mother! Mother!" The Queen image had disappeared, leaving Minako stare blankly at her table, but then she remembered her mother's words. Would she know what to do?

Minako lay back down in her bed, thinking about what the Queen had said as she let her exhaustion wash over her.

—soul-bond dream—

Amid the snow storm, Venus saw the silver hair man in his dashing military uniform with his back to her. His sword in its sheath, hanging at his side. She walked slowly toward him. The sound of her steps caused him to turn his head to her. Seeing her face, he turned his body to face her.

"Who are you?" Kunzite asked.

Venus was sad that he hadn't recognized her yet again.

"I am —Sailor Venus."

"Sailor Venus." Kunzite touched his chin with his right hand and tried to think, only if his brain would cooperate.

"You really don't remember me?" Venus looked longingly at him.

Kunzite shook his head slowly. "I don't"

Venus hung her head down with disappointment.

"But I feel you were an important person in my life."

Venus lifted her head swiftly to look at him.

"But I don't remember why." They both looked at each other.

Venus stared at him intensely. "Should I forget you?"

Kunzite tilted his head, feeling confused.

"I can set you free if you don't want me in your life." Kunzite was still lost in his thought.

"Do you still love me?" Venus' tears were welling up.

Kunzite felt something in his throat making talking difficult. He uttered, "I don't remember who you are."

Venus nodded her head defeatedly. She had heard enough. She slowly turned away, to walk away from this nightmare forever.

She lingered her gaze on him as she turned her head back to see him one last time, then she turned her head back and slowly stepped away from him.

"But I want to find out!" Kunzite yelled. His words stopped Venus in her track.

"I don't know if I still love you, but I want to find out." Venus turned back to meet his eyes.

"Really?"

"I know you are important to me." Kunzite said to her.

"I know it in my soul." He said sternly.

Venus touched her chest.

"I still don't remember you, but I'd really like a chance to find out."

She was out of words.

"Get to know me. Bring me back to your life." Kunzite said with determination.

Venus tilted her head slightly as she looked at him. "That's all I need to hear, dear." Venus touched his cheek. "I know what to do now."

—end dream—

Minako woke up, her eyes still showed exhaustion, but her face and heart were full with determination.

She looked out the window, seeing the sun was already up. Artemis was no longer in her room. She smelled something wonderful from the kitchen down stairs, knowing that her friend must have woken up. Still in her light orange pajamas, Mina walked slowly down the stairs. Halfway through the stairs, her eyes met with Makoto who was carrying a tray full with Western style breakfast. Her friend smiled at her.

"I was going to give you a breakfast in bed, but now that you're up. Wanna come down and eat with me?" Makoto pointed her head toward the kitchen.

Minako rushed down the stairs, grabbing Makoto's shoulders, almost made her brunette friend spill the tray.

"Mako-chan. I know what to do!" She looked at Makoto.

Makoto turned to the side to put down the tray on the table nearby. "Me too." Her tall friend looked back at her with equally strong determination.

—

AN. There you go! Now that Mina and Mako have made the decision, the fight is coming soon. But there will be some more scenes among the girls before the fight. I'd love to write a little bit more about their relationship with one another, especially with Usagi. Would you like to see that? Or you'd rather I get to the fight? Love to hear your thoughts.

Thank you for everyone who reads this story. Even just a line to let me know that someone is reading it is really motivating. Thanks to you all. :)

Special thanks to

Moonprincess998: I'm hoping to write scenes to show the connections between senshi and shitennou. Writing to evoke emotion was much more difficult than I thought, but I'm trying my best. Hope some of them come through.

persian85033 : Well, Mina and Mako didn't feel it was a good plan. Hopefully this chapter gave you a glimpse of why that is. :)

Guest: Glad you like the story. I'm looking forward to writing about Nate and Ken as normal guys.

Dragonlover : Glad you like it. I want to write a little bit more about each couple. Maybe after the fight. Stay tuned!


	30. Our Princess

Chapter 30: Our Princess

Minako hung up the phone, signaling to Makoto that they should get going to the shrine to have a heart-to-heart talk with Usagi. Makoto nodded slowly and picked up her things, preparing to leave the house.

Minako was still holding the cellphone close to her heart. This was going to be the most difficult talk with her princess indeed. They were about to ask her princess to compromise their responsibilities. Since swearing to be Serenity's senshi, they had been uphold this honor with great pride. Nothing was more important than Serenity's safety. However, they were about to ask their princess to rescue their lovers and possibly risking the princess's life. That thought weighed heavily on her and Makoto.

They were not going to abandon their duties. Short from killing them, nothing would prevent them from protecting their princess. But for some reason, they felt that they had given up too quickly in the past. They had seen the conflict and decided that their duty of protecting Serenity was far important above anything else, and it was. But they had given up. They had given up on rescuing their lovers. They didn't try hard enough.

Serenity had given up too. She had given up her life after Endymion's death, but Usagi'd never given up. Countless times Mamoru was in danger, she'd never once given up. She was determined to rescue him and save everyone. Wasn't it about time for her and Makoto to do the same? They were now determined to save their loves and everyone. No one would have to make unnecessary sacrifices. This was their third chance. This time things would turn out differently.

She walked alongside her brunette friend. They both walked quietly side-by-side. Even without saying a word, Minako felt safe with her friend by her side. They had gone through so many things together, but losing their soulmates had bound them together tighter than ever. They would go through this together and come out stronger.

Minako turned to look at her friend. Makoto smiled at her. Worry was written all over her friend's face. She knew she had to be strong for her friend and herself.

"It will be ok, Mako-chan." Minako looked back straight ahead. "This is Usagi. She will help us figure it out."

"I still feel guilty." Makoto looked down at the ground. "I feel like we are asking her to risk her life for our lovers." Makoto kept walking, keeping her gaze on the ground. "It's despicable for us to even think of asking her that."

Minako sighed heavily. "That might be true. But Usagi is not just Princess Serenity anymore. She's our Usagi, and she can make miracles happen." Minako looked up in the morning sky, while keeping her walking pace steady.

"I feel we are about to ask for something we shouldn't." Makoto said. "I know we both received signs from Nephrite and Kunzite, but what if we're wrong? What if the signs were just our selfishness manifested in our dream and vision?" Makoto lost in her thoughts.

Minako stepped in front of her friend and stopped her. "We have to stop this guilt, Mako-chan." Minako reached out and grabbed her friend's shoulders. "We've made the decision to try and rescue them. We are not abandoning our duty. We're just going to ask Usagi. If she says no, then it's a no." Minako said with a stern voice, but her eyes tearing up.

"But knowing Usagi, you know she will say yes." Makoto said.

"Even if she has to risk her life for us, she will say yes." Minako nodded.

"So by asking, we essentially ask her to risk her safety. For our lovers." Makoto said with worried eyes.

Minako gave a small sigh. "You're right. Being a cheerful optimistic person that she is, she will agree to do this. That girl never thinks about her own safety. Her heart's full of love and compassion."

"Do we have the right to ask her this?" Makoto turned to talk to her.

Minako looked away, "I don't know, Mako-chan."

Her brunette friend looked down, lost in her thought, feeling defeated.

"My mother said this was a test." Minako said.

"Your mother?"

"Queen Aphrodite, I saw her spirit last night. She told me this was a test I needed to go through."

Minako looked directly at Makoto's eyes. "Logically, I know what we are going to do sounds wrong, but my intuition tells me it isn't."

Makoto looked back at her, "I have the same hunch." Makoto forced a smile. "But it goes against everything we are told to do."

"Maybe it's time we do something we want to do, not what we are told to do." Minako said firmly to her friend.

"Look, Mako-chan. We are not abandoning our duty of protecting Usagi. We are just trying to see how we can protect her and rescue Nephrite and Kunzite at the same time." Minako grabbed her friend's shoulders.

"This time we will not give up. We will fight for our duty and our loves. And we will win."

Makoto smiled and elbowed her leader senshi, "Nice prep talk, Minako."

They looked at each other and said "Let's do this!"

—

The two girls were approaching the shrine's stairs to see that Usagi was already there waiting for them.

"Usagi!" Mina and Mako exclaimed.

"I've got a feeling you want to talk to me alone, so I'm waiting for you two here."

Minako and Makoto both smiled at Usagi.

"Thank you, Usagi-chan." Minako smiled at her reincarnated princess.

"There's an empty room at the shrine. I've been using it to take a nap once in a while. We can talk there."

"Taking a nap, huh? Sound like you Usagi!" Makoto teased her to lighten the mood.

"Mako-chan!" Usagi pouted.

"Just kidding." Makoto waved her hand. "Let's go."

The three girls were now safely sitting on the floor around the coffee table.

"You two look so serious." Usagi was the first one to break the silence.

Minako looked at Makoto and then at Usagi.

"We want to talk to you, not as Usagi, but as Princess Serenity."

"What do you mean?"

"We want to talk to you as your senshi, not your friends."

"But you are my friends!" Usagi protested.

"I know in this life, but first and foremost, you are our Princess." Minako said.

"I'm the same person. It doesn't matter if I'm Usagi or Serenity. I'm still me!"

"Please listen to us, Princess." Both Minako and Makoto transformed into their senshi uniform, causing Usagi to become wide-eyed with surprise. It's highly unusual for them to transform without the face of the enemy.

Venus and Jupiter knelt down, one hand touched their hearts. Their head bowed slightly.

"We want to ask you something that might compromise our duty as your guardians." Venus said.

Usagi then transformed into Princess Serenity. The silver light enveloped her automatically. The Princess was standing in front of the two senshi now.

"Speak." Serenity said softly.

"We want to ask you —" Jupiter was at a loss for word. She didn't like asking for anything, especially from whom she was supposed to protect.

"We want to rescue Kunzite and Nephrite before fighting Ferdinand." Venus said so loudly almost as if it was a declaration.

"We received signs from Kunzite and Nephrite last night. Nephrite whispered to me through winds and Kunzite appeared in Minako's dream. This makes us believe that we still have a chance of rescuing them," Jupiter said.

"We know that our duty is to protect you, and the safest way is to kill Ferdinand as quickly as possible. But we'd like to ask for your permission and let us try to help Kunzite and Nephrite first." Venus continued.

"We know full well that this can jeopardize your safety. And we never wish for any harm to come to you. We will still protect you with our lives, we are only asking for a small extra time to rescue the shitennou first."

"If that fails, we will get rid of them and Ferdinand. But we want to at least try." Venus said, her tears start to well up.

Serenity smiled kindly and hugged both of them, causing Venus and Jupiter to almost fall down as they had not expected such a kind reaction.

Serenity parted from them and said, "I was about to ask you to do that."

Jupiter and Venus looked at each other, feeling surprised.

"I can't bear the thought of you losing your loved ones again. Back on the moon, I was so consumed by my own love for Endymion, I didn't notice how much pain you all had to go through to protect me."

"Back then, Endymion was everything to me. I killed myself, not knowing how much pain it would have caused my mother and you all. Everyone had sacrificed themselves and their loves to protect me. But I just threw my life away."

"It wasn't until the recent battle with Beryl that I realized the pain you all had to go through fighting against your loved ones. It breaks my heart." Serenity welled up.

"Now that we have another chance, I want you to have your happy endings too. We will rescue Kunzite and Nephrite together, and then we will take care of Ferdinand."

"But that might put you in danger, Princess." Jupiter said. "You should stay safely with everyone, while Venus and I try to help the shitennou."

Serenity shook her head slowly. "We'll deal with this together." She smiled at her senshi.

"We couldn't let you do that. Even us asking for a time to help Kunzite and Nephrite is already too much, Princess. We are compromising our duty for your own selfish reason, and you are not mad?" Venus said.

"I'm happy to have you two as my senshi, but I'm no longer the helpless princess like I used to be. I'm Sailor Moon now. I can fight, and because I can fight. I'm going to fight for my friends to be reunited with their true loves. Because that's my duty."

Venus and Jupiter looked puzzled.

"As your friend." Serenity continued.

"Serenity, I —" Jupiter was at a loss for word.

"We are being so selfish! We think about men ahead of our duties. It's shameful." Jupiter said, hanging her head down.

"We feel like we are betraying you, Serenity. We are asking to put our duty on hold and rescue our loves," Jupiter continued.

"We are not doing our job properly," Venus said.

"That's not true." Mamoru slid open the paper door.

"Usagi and I've talked about this. And we decided that rescuing Kunzite and Nephrite is also your duty." Serenity detransformed back to Usagi, causing the girls to detransform as well.

"Why?"

"Because the shitennou are Mamoru's guards, and I want to see him happy. So you helping Kunzite and Nephrite is actually helping me." Usagi smiled.

"Usagi, I don't know what to say." Minako and Makoto teared up.

"I think you are doing the right thing." Rei opened the door, Ami walking behind her.

"Wait! Everyone was eavesdropping?" Minako asked.

"You transformed, Minako. It wasn't a difficult guess." Rei rolled her eyes.

"What I want to say is that you are both right about helping Kunzite and Nephrite first. Last night I read the fire, and I saw Kunzite and Nephrite's life forces heavily connected with Ferdinand's. So if we kill Ferdinand first, Kunzite and Nephrite might die alongside him."

"At first I wasn't sure what to make of it, but hearing about the signs you got from Kunzite and Nephrite, I believe this is what it means."

"How long have you been listening, Rei?" Minako asked.

"Actually I'm the one that brought them here. I sensed Serenity's presence and I had to check." Mamoru explained.

"So that means —" Makoto said.

"We are here too." Jun and Zac coming up behind the wall.

"So much for a secret meeting!" Minako threw up her hands.

"You should have known by now that you can't keep any secret from us." Rei said.

"We feel like we're — betraying you all." Makoto said dejectedly.

"Betray is too strong a word, maybe like selfishly neglecting our duty." Minako said. "What kind of guardian chose to rescue her man before protecting her princess?"

"Because her princess ordered her to," Usagi said firmly.

"What?" Minako and Makoto exclaimed.

"That's right. I ordered you two to rescue Nephrite and Kunzite before we fight Ferdinand. That's an order!" Usagi winked.

"And since it's my order, you have to obey." Usagi said with mischievous smile.

"And you are not allowed to feel guilty!"

Makoto and Minako looked at Usagi lovingly.

"We are so lucky to serve you Princess Serenity," Minako said

"I want you to know that —." Usagi said, "It's not just you who want a second chance, I do too."

"I want a second chance to treat my senshi right." Usagi looked at Minako, Makoto, Rei and Ami.

"What are you saying, Usagi?" Ami asked.

"As Princess Serenity in the past, I didn't really notice your love with the shitennou. Sure, I was happy that you got together with them. But I was oblivious to the pain you all had to go through during the final battle." Usagi looked at everyone.

"I want you all to have your happy endings. Because you all deserve it. And this time, I'm going to make sure it happens." Usagi said with determination.

"Thank you, Usagi." Minako said with joy as she leapt to hug Usagi, Makoto, Rei and Ami followed. The five girls huddled together, feeling stronger than ever. Mamoru, Zac and Jun stood nearby and watched this heart-warming scene unfolded. They will do it right this time. They will.

—

AN. Sorry for a long wait. Life's getting kind of crazy, but don't worry. I will finish this story for sure. I will be going away for two weeks in June, so I won't be able to update for a while. Now I can't promise anything, but I will try to update the next chapter before I leave town. Thanks again for everyone who's reading. Feel free to drop me a comment in the review section or PM me.

Special thanks to

persian85033 : I really want to have Usagi talked with the girls about shitennou, so this is my attempt in capturing their friendship. Hope you like it.

Moonprincess998 : So glad you liked the last chapter. Even though Kunz and Neph were still in their dark sides, I couldn't imagine them forgetting the girls completely.

Guest: Glad you like the dream part.

Sage McGavin : Here it comes!

KageNoNeko: Thank you. So happy you liked it.

Dragonlover: No, it's not rude at all. I'm glad someone's waiting to read it. I try to update at least every two weeks, but this month was quite busy for me. I'll try to update soon.

Guest: Thanks for reading. I'll try to update as soon as I can.


	31. Nothing else matters

Chapter 31: Nothing else matters

They were all in front of the cave at the D-point together. The snowstorm was blowing heavily, yet they seemed fearless. They slowly walking inside, knowing full well that their enemy had been expecting them. It was the designated time, the new moon phase where the moon disappeared completely when seeing from earth. This was the time the moon power was at the lowest, so they had to exercise extra caution. They kept walking until reaching a crossway leading to two caves. As they stopped to figure out which way to go, they heard clicking sounds of combat boots touching the floor. Slowly, they started to see where that sound came from. Nephrite was walking toward them from one cave, while Kunzite from the other. Nephrite was holding his staff with his right arm, putting it up in front of him, while Kunzite was walking with his sword in its sheath hanging down from his belt. Ferdinand was nowhere to be senshi went to stand between the possessed shitennou and their princess. Jadeite and Zoicite, standing beside Tuxedo mask. Now the fight would begin.

The senshi and two shitennou looked at each other. They had planned to split up into three groups. One was Venus and Jadeite, rescuing Kunzite. One was Jupiter and Zoicite, freeing Nephrite. While the rest stood firm with Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask when Ferdinand appeared. They all had limited window of opportunity to rescue the two shitennou as they had no idea when Ferdinand would attack Sailor Moon.

Venus and Jadeite looked at each other, and ran inside one cave to face Kunzite. Now it was only the three of them in this cave.

"Two against one. And I will still win." Kunzite said as he pulled his sword out of its sheath.

Venus and Jadeite knew that if they would want any chance of rescuing Kunzite, they had to take his sword away from him. That's where the dark power that possessed him came from, the lingering evil power from Metallia.

Kunzite was running toward Jadeite, which was something Venus hadn't anticipated. They had thought Kunzite would aim for Venus first. Getting caught off guard, Jadeite pulled out his two krises (a small dagger with wavy blade) and prepared to fight. Kunzite's sword was fast and furious. He was the best sword fighter in the land, after all. Going into this fight, Jadeite knew too well that he would never be able to beat Kunzite one-on-one. He was here to help Venus. Jadeite managed to fend off Kunzite's attacks several times, but hadn't yet found a chance to strike.

"Venus crescent beam." Her attack hit Kunzite indirectly. He turned to face her. Jadeite used this chance to throw his kris at Kunzite, but he managed to dodge it and the dagger stuck at his cape, which he quickly ripped it apart and freed himself.

Now Kunzite was facing Venus and Jadeite. The two joined forces in a fight against Kunzite. Venus and Jadeite kept aiming at Kunzite's sword or his hand holding the sword. It was a losing battle. They were in defensive mode, but Kunzite wasn't. As they were growing more and more tired, it was getting more and more difficult for the two to fend off his attacks.

"Mars, we need your help." Venus said to Mars through her communicator. They had planned to have Mars and Mercury stay with Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask as long as possible in case Ferdinand decided to attack before they could free Kunzite and Nephrite but now they really needed a backup.

Venus concentrated back with the fight at hand. She saw Jadeite and Kunzite fighting, and her eyes welled up. They were brothers in this life. If they would finally free Ken, he would never forgive himself for fighting his brother.

Mars arrived in no time. Kunzite saw the senshi of fire arrived tiredly so he charged toward her with his sword. But before his sword hit her, Jadeite went in and pushed her out of the way. Jadeite managed to stuck his kris at Kunzite's knee, but Kunzite's sword run through the younger shitennou's body.

Mars gasped with horror. Jadeite's seemingly lifeless body fell down, she rushed in and caught his body in her arms. Kunzite's empty evil eyes showed indifference. He pulled the kris out of his knee and rushed to pull his sword from Jadeite's body. But Venus caught him.

"Venus love me chain." She pulled him with her chain and rolled him back to face her.

"Get Jadeite to Mamoru. Quick! I will handle Kunzite." The leader senshi told her comrade. Mars spent a second to take a deep breath, gave Venus as look of understanding and then moved, holding Jadeite's body with Kunzite's sword still sticking in it.

Kunzite and Venus were facing each other. Venus saw a glimpse of Kunzite's normal eyes under the dark evil expression. Kunzite stopped himself in his track, looking apparently confused. Venus saw his half-heart shaped silver locket hanging down his neck, resting over the collar of his uniform. She pulled out her own golden locket from her neck. She carried it tightly in her hand, and she ran towards the still-disorientated Kunzite. She went in swiftly and connected her locket with his. The golden light flashed and surrounded them.

—Kunzite's Memory—

It was a clear bright day at the beach on earth. Kunzite was showing Venus the earth's beaches and the ocean She was curious when she saw them from afar from the palace. He took her on his horse, and rode quietly to this secluded beach. He tied his horse with a palm tree nearby. Then they strolled along the beach together.

That day the sea was calm, but he was not. His heart would beat feaster every time the Goddess of Venus walking near him, brushing her arm against his, or looking softly at him. Every time she looked at him, it seemed like she was saying that she longed to be with him forever. And he did too.

They were walking barefoot along the beach. She was in her court dress, light orange in color. The dress was long down to her feet, covering her ankles. Her face when her bare foot touched the wet delicate white sand for the first time was precious. She looked like a goddess that she was but with a child-like curiosity. She crouched down and scoped the wet sand with her delicate hands. The sand were slowly falling out of her hands as she stood up. She looked at him with delight and amazement. This must be how Endymion felt showing Princess Serenity around the kingdom. The Lunarians reminded them that everything on earth was precious and not to be taken for granted.

Venus looked at the sea beyond the horizon.

"Can I go in the water?" She asked him. Her voice was as sweet as the nightingale's.

He nodded and smiled. "But not too deep, Venus. The tide can get strong here." He couldn't help but let his protective nature come out.

She lifted up her dress slightly and stepped into the sea. She kept walking until the water's up to her shins. She looked enchanted. She walked further and further into the water, dropping down the hands holding her dress, no longer caring if it's gotten wet. He would have to find her a change of clothes later at the palace. He normally would have stopped her, but the moment was too precious to be interrupted. She immersed herself in water, the water was up to her waist.

"Kunzite, come down with me." She smiled, having fun.

He shook his head slowly. "You have fun, Venus. I have to watch out for any intruders."

"You take your duty too serious sometime, Kunz." It was a strange, but nice feeling having her called him by his nickname like that. She smiled and turned back toward the sun shining upon the glittering sea.

He told her that he couldn't go in the water with her because of his duty, but he knew the real reason was that he couldn't trust that he would be able to control himself seeing her, touching her, and holding her in the water. He had tried to hold back his feeling as he didn't want anything to distract him from his duty. But it had become harder and harder every time he saw her. Maybe it was stupid to hold back his feeling. The other shitennou were fine courting the senshi. But as a leader, he had to keep his head straight. He couldn't afford any distraction, not when the civil war was brewing like this. He wished he could be with her like a normal couple some day but that would have to be after Endymion gets married. That was his duty. But it was getting harder and harder to withhold his feeling towards his lovely angel.

She knelt down and immersed herself in the warm caress of the sea. She rose up slowly, turning to smile at him. The sun behind her showed her beautiful silhouette before his eyes. She walked slowly toward him, one hand holding up the end of her dress. She looked like a goddess born at the sea and came up to the shore to be with him. The water was dripping down from her long gorgeous blonde hair. Her clothes clung to her body showing her figure beautifully. Using her right hand, she tucked a part of her hair behind her ear. She turned to look at him and smiled. He wanted this moment to last forever. At this moment, nothing else mattered. Not his past, his duty, his title. Just him and her together under the sun. He couldn't hold back his feeling no longer. He walked slowly to her. He held her at her waist, pulled her closer to him. He moved one hand up to touch her hair, brushed it aside to see her face clearly. She was truly a goddess, his goddess.

"I love you." He uttered so softly as if he wanted no one else to hear but her. Venus leaned over and kissed him. The only moment truly mattered to him was right here, right now.

Only him and his goddess together.

—End Memory—

Kunzite opened his eyes, looked at Venus. " Venus!" But this time he leaned over and kissed her. They both closed their eyes for a moment, drinking it the sweetest moment of having each other back in their arms again. Then they knew they had to go back to fight, to fight for the future they could have together.

—

AN. So what do you think? Hope you like Kunzite and Venus together. I apologize for the fighting scenes. I'm still learning how to write them.

I will be away for a while, so I won't be able to update for at least 2-3 weeks. Feel free to leave your reviews and comments. It's so motivating to hear from all of you.

Special thanks to:

SilverIcy: Glad you liked the scene. I love writing about their bonds. They have been through so much together.

winxclubbs: Happy you like the story. If you don't mind me asking, what specifically do you like about it? I'm trying to improve my writing :)

persian85033: Yep, Usagi is a true optimist. She'll make anything happen. You seem to always know where I am going with the story :)

Moonprincess998: Here comes the fight! I wish I could write a more elaborate fighting scene, but sadly I seriously suck at this. Still the story must go on. I am itching to get to their happy endings too. In fact, I actually wrote most of them. ;)

Dragonlover: Thanks for reading!

Lucky's girl: Glad you hear you like all the chapters. Thank you so much for continuing reading the story.

Sage McGavin &amp; Reidite88 : Thanks for reading.


	32. Rain

Chapter 32: Rain

Standing in front of Nephrite were Jupiter and Zoicite. Jupiter alone would have been sufficient to kill Nephrite, but they only wished to free him, which meant they could only work on the defensive. That made things a lot harder. Knowing Nephrite's fighting movies inside and out, Zoicite was there to help Jupiter to take down Nephrite. Zoicite had analyzed Nephrite's fighting moves countless times in the past. Among four shitennou, he was the one in charge of strategic planning after all.

Nephrite didn't waste any time talking to them. He was always like that. He liked to get down and fight. Nephrite held his staff, moving it swiftly to knock down Jupiter and Zoicite. They both dodged his staff many times, but as they began to feel weary, Nephrite's staff began to hit them here and there. Nephrite finally stopped his attack, studying his opponents. Zoicite and Jupiter stood in defensive stance, trying to catch their breaths. Things were not looking good. They hadn't gotten any closer to freeing Nephrite.

Zoicite swiftly held his bow, aiming at Nephrite's hand holding the staff, but Nephrite was quicker. He summoned the sand storm, blowing into Zoicite's eyes. He dropped his hand holding the bow and fell down to his knees. Just as Jupiter was rushing to help Zoicite, Nephrite summoned another wind and whirled around him and Jupiter, cutting Zoicite out of the way.

Zoicite tried to open his eyes, but it hurt so badly that he couldn't. He was worried about Jupiter fighting Nephrite alone. "Mercury, we need you." Zoicite spoke through the communicator before collapsing on the floor.

Mercury reached the scene in no time. She was afraid when she saw her man lying down on the floor, with his eyes shut, his face writhing with pain. Mercury went in and held him up.

"What happened? Are you ok? Where's Jupiter?"

"I'm ok. I got Neph's storm in the eyes. Jupiter's with him right now. Inside the storm." Zoicite said while holding on to Mercury, trying to stand up.

Mercury looked at the windstorm surrounding her friend and Nephrite. With naked eyes, she couldn't see anything inside. She quickly tapped her earring to activate her visor. Mercury saw shadows of them moving so swiftly that she could barely distinguish her from him. Jupiter didn't summon the thunder. She wasn't going to. She was going to help Nephrite. But he was going for a kill. This was truly difficult.

As Zoicite stood up, he said, "I could still send my arrow and knock his staff out of his hand, but I need your help."

"What are you talking about? You can't see. How would you shoot an arrow?"

"You can be my eyes."

Mercury was shocked. "What? I can't —"

"The storm was really strong, even with your eyes intact, I'm not even sure you could hit his staff."

"You don't believe in me, Mercury."

"Of course, I do, but —"

"Trust me, we can do this."

Mercury reluctantly nodded. "Hold on, let me pull out my computer and calculate the target."

"There's no time for that, Mercury. We have to help Jupiter now before he kills her."

"But —"

"Trust me."

Mercury went behind Zoicite, two hands following his hands holding the bow and arrows.

"I don't know where to aim, Zoi." Mercury said.

"Just think about helping your friend."

Mercury took a deep breath.

"And believe in yourself."

Mercury felt the connection with Jupiter and let go of the arrow. The arrow hit Nephrite's hand causing him to drop his staff. Jupiter used this chance to take the staff and throw it out of the storm. Mercury grabbed the staff, which was now reduced to the short version.

"Oh" Zoicite cried out in pain as he felt the pain in his eyes. Mercury used her computer and scanned his eyes.

"The particles in your eyes might be poisonous." Mercury pulled out her medical tools. "Let me take care of that for you."

"Thank you," Zoicite said, his hands still covering his eyes. "How do you want to help Jupiter?"

Mercury, holding Zoicite in one hand, looked at her friend inside the storm and said, "I think it's up to them now." She then started to notice rain clouds gathering above. Normally, rain clouds would not be inside the cave, so she knew Jupiter summoned them. She didn't know what her friend would do, but she hoped it would work.

—

After throwing his staff away, Jupiter stared at Nephrite, hoping to see some changes in his eyes. He stopped his movement for a few seconds, his hand touching his head, seemingly trying to recall something. Jupiter walked towards him slowly, letting all her guard down. As she's moving closer, he let his hand fall down to his side, staring back at her. She made the thunderstorm lessen. She didn't need them anymore. She was sure about that. She was about to get her love back. He still looked at her, feeling guarded. Of course, he would be. He, like she, didn't trust anyone easily. They were both strong people on the outside, but soft on the inside. It was always difficult to break down their walls, but once anybody got in, they would be their companions for life. He still didn't remember her. He looked at her as if she was a stranger. In a way, she was. If his memory of this life and past life were gone, then she was a stranger. Now that she thought about it. Aren't all relationships just memories? When he didn't have memories of their time together, they were strangers. Would care and love between them still be present if he didn't remember her?

But she saw, through all confusion and frustration in his eyes. She saw his love for her. This time, she was determined to see through all the darkness governing him. She would not push her instinct about her love aside. She would trust it this time.

She moved closer to him. She commanded the rain to pour down on them both. Rain is their bond, just like wind and sky. It will help free him. The water dripping down his face, she touched his cheek with her hand. They both looked at each other for a few seconds, then he closed his eyes.

—Nephrite's memory—

She looked as lovely as always. Today she wasn't in her senshi uniform, but in a lovely light green dress. Her dress was flowing as she moved, as if it was dancing with her. Every move she made, it felt like a beautiful dance. It really was.

I couldn't believe that we were fighting the first time we met. That seemed like a long time ago. Now she's a delicate flower shining light to my heart every week she comes to earth. Now she was no longer here just to bring her princess home, but she was also here to see me. That was difficult to believe at first, that I, Nephrite, the lowly Terran shitennou, could spend time with the Princess of Jupiter. It had seemed like a dream, and it still felt like that.

We walked through palace's garden to the stable, where I led her to meet my loyal horse, Bolt. She admired his form. Sure, Bolt was the most beautiful horse I've ever seen, but at this moment, nothing was more beautiful than she was.

"Can I?" She gestured as though as she was going to stroke Bolt's face.

I nodded. Normally, I wouldn't let anyone touch him. But she seemed like a part of me as much as Bolt was.

She stroked his face slowly, Bolt leaned into her palm and nuzzled her. It felt like I was introducing my girlfriend to the family, which in a way, it was.

I led Bolt outside while holding her hand. We walked slowly, enjoying the palace's grass field until we reached the edge of the palace ground.

"Where are we going, Nephrite?" She asked me.

"You mentioned before that you'd love to see Terran trees and creatures in nature. Today I'm taking you to see them." I said as I looked at her sparkled eyes.

"Really?" She clapped her hands with delight, almost jumping. She looked like a child awaiting her christmas present. I love seeing this face of hers. I wish I could be the only who got to see it.

I moved my index finger to my lip, "but don't tell anyone that we leave the palace's ground."

She chuckled, "Don't worry. Serenity has so many secrets of her own. She wouldn't mind if I have one too."

Bolt was tall, taller than a usual war horse, but she was also tall. Normally, she would have no troubled getting on him at all. But today, she was in her lovely dress, and I would very much love to be the one who held her up. Not only that it was what gentleman should do, I also couldn't wait to put my arms around her.

"Let me help you." I said as I embraced her and put her on the horse, sitting lady style. I climbed and sat behind her.

She was nervous, I could tell. "Maybe I should sit behind you. I'm too tall. I don't want to block your vision."

I leaned my face in and buried my face in her hair. "I'm still taller, princess. Plus, this way, I can make sure you stay with me all the time." I could feel she blushed. Was that even possible? But I knew I felt it.

We rode fast and far across the forest. It was pretty sunny before, but the clouds were starting to form. It got me worried. I didn't want her first impression of Terran's forest to be drenched in rain.

I hauled and stopped Bolt. We stopped at my small cottage. This was where I came to look at stars. Sure, I had a tower for that in the palace, but once in a while, I needed to be surrounded by nature to concentrate on my vision and converse with the stars. This was where I would usually be.

"What a lovely place!" She uttered as she saw the cottage.

"I'll show you inside, but first let me show you one of the most beautiful sight on Earth." I led her by hand to the forest behind the cottage.

She gasped with delight. Stood before her was a magnificent giant oak tree. It was around 70 feet tall.

She walked slowly to the tree. As she reached under the shade of the tree, she looked up at the sky through the layers of leaves. Her eyes sparkled. This was the expression I wanted to see.

She walked further toward the tree trunk. She touched it slowly. She closed her eyes softly, as if she was talking to the tree.

"It's amazing. We have giant tress like this on Jupiter, but not on the Moon. So seeing it makes me miss home."

"I didn't mean to make you feel sad." I said.

She turned to me and said, "I'm not sad. I'm really happy. I feel like I'm home again."

I smiled at her. One day, I hope this would be our home.

Squirrels and rabbits hopping pass by, birds flying around her. She crouched down to play with the rabbits. She really would be the goddess of the forest. Everything fit her perfectly here.

I didn't know how much time we spent under the oak tree. But soon, the clouds were forming and the rain was started to pour, I led her quickly inside the cottage.

I handed her the towel to dry her hair, which had gotten wet while we were escaping the rain.

"I'm sorry it's raining. I'd have loved to show you more of the forest." I was really sad it's raining. Since I grew up, rain always made me feel lonely. I didn't want her to feel that way. I only want happiness for her.

She flipped her beautiful slightly wet brown hair to one side, drying it with the towel. Even at times like this, she still was the most beautiful woman for me.

"Why do you look so sad?" She looked puzzled. "I love rain!"

I had forgotten that she was the goddess of thunder, surely she loved rain. I guess it was my own loneliness association with the rain that made me sad.

"You don't like rain, Nephrite?" She put down the towel and approached me.

I leaned against the window frame and gazed out the window. I saw rains getting heavier, blurring all the vision outside. The only thing I saw now are raindrops were streaming across the window as if they were dancing.

"Rain makes it difficult to talk to the stars. And rain makes all the animals disappeared. It felt lonely. There's nothing we can do except sitting in here and waiting for it to stop."

She tilted her head and smiled at me. "I'll show you how to have fun in the rain. Come." She held my hand and let me outside.

"You'll get wet, Jupiter." I said.

"Who cares? It's only you and me." She smiled widely as she walked almost hopping outside in the rain.

"Jupiter wait!" I stumbled trying to find an umbrella for her. But I was too late. She was already out the door. She left the door wide open. I still stood inside, looking at my angel twirling in the rain.

"Jupiter, you will catch a cold."

"I'm the goddess of thunder. I don't catch a cold, not from rain." She winked at me.

She danced in the rain. Yes, danced. She danced to the sounds of rain drops. She kicked lightly at the puddle on the ground, splashing water up. She twirled and twirled and looked up at the sky. She closed her eyes, feeling the rain drops streaming down her face. She looked so peaceful. Rain drops ran down her cloths, making her dress cling to her body. The water was dripping down from her dress, to her naked feet. But she didn't seem to care about it one bit. She's becoming one with the rain.

She spotted a frog hopping to her. She crouched down, opened her palm and let him hop onto her palm. Most women would have been scared by these slimy creatures, but not her.

She stood up and showed me the frog. "See? Even when it's raining, you are never alone."

I walked outside to be with her, no longer care about my drenched uniform. I gentle took the frog from her hand, put him on the grass.

"With you, I'll never be alone again." I held her at her waist and brought her closer to me.

The moment I kissed her I felt something I'd never felt since I left my kingdom. I felt at home. She was my home now, and forever.

—

"Jupiter!" Nephrite yelled as he recalled his love standing in front of him.

"I'm so sorry," she saw guilt in his eyes. Something she never wanted to see in him.

She pulled him and gave him strong embrace. She would never let him go, never again.

"It's ok, Nephrite." She pulled herself apart and held his hand strongly. "Let's go save this planet."

The storm surrounding them both had died down. Jupiter and Nephrite shared a look with Mercury and Zoicite. They all nodded at one another. It's time to get peace back in their lives.

—

AN. Hope you like this one. I added M/Z in there as well. Couldn't helped it :)

Thank you for all the reviews

gabicg1 : Sorry! I didn't mean for the last chapter to be a cliffhanger. Just try to finish the chapter before I went out of town. Hope you like this one too. :)

Guest, Guest: Glad you guys like it.

Dragonlover: Great suggestion. I'll do that (if I ever get around to it. I keep telling myself to do that for a while.)

persian85033 : Venus and Kunzite are becoming one of my favorite now. They have lots of stories to tell!

Reidite88 : Jadeite will come up in the next two chapters (if things go as planned).

Lucky's Girl : Thank you so so much for your review. You are always a good motivator. :)


	33. The truth

Chapter 33: The truth

Sailor Moon saw Mars rushing in with Jadeite's seemingly lifeless body in her arms. Seeing Mars holding Jadeite's body with Kunzite's sword sticking out, Tuxedo Mask immediately knew what happened.

"What happened?" Sailor Moon asked.

Mars hurriedly but softly laid down Jadeite on the floor in front of Tuxedo Mask. "He's stabbed by Kunzite." Mars seemed like she almost cried but tried to hold back. Sailor Moon knelt down to comfort her friend.

Tuxedo Mask didn't waste time. He put both his hand over Jadeite's injury, the golden light came out. Jadeite's wound seemed to be getting better.

"He's badly injured. I don't think I can heal him completely, but I will do what I can for now." Tuxedo Mask said.

Then Kunzite and Venus came rushing to the group. Kunzite asked furiously. "Is Jadeite ok?" He was angry and disappointed at himself for hurting his brother.

"He'll be ok." Tuxedo Mask said while still keeping his hands over Jadeite.

Ferdinand suddenly appeared. He's hovering in front of the group.

"Endymion." Ferdinand called out.

Sailor Moon, Mars, Venus and Kunzite looked at Ferdinand. Tuxedo Mask turned to look at Ferdinand, but his hands still helping Jadeite.

"It's over, Endymion. Hand over the princess!" Ferdinand commanded.

Tuxedo Mask knew Jadeite was critically injured, he wanted to make sure the youngest shitennou was safe before leaving him, but seemed like he didn't have any other choice. Ferdinand was calling him. Luckily, in the corner of his eyes, he saw Nephrite, Jupiter, Mercury and Zoicite running toward him.

"Zoicite, Mercury! Take care of Jadiete!" He commanded, leaving Jadiete in the hands of the two healers.

Zoicite and Mercury tended to Jadiete, while the rest of the group stood guarding the three. Tuxedo Mask walked from the back to confront Ferdinand. Suddenly, his cloths changed into Endymion's armor.

"Don't do this, Ferdinand!" Endymion said, somewhat too kindly to his enemy.

"I don't want to fight you, Endymion. Just hand over the princess."

"Never!" Endymion drew his sword out of its sheath.

"Then you leave me no choice." Ferdinand said while sending a black bomb into the group. Mercury formed a small barrier, protecting herself, Jadeite and Zoicite, while the others fought Ferdinand.

Mars and Kunzite went in for the kill. Mars ran directly to Ferdinand, determined to avenge for her Love. She launched her attack when she was close enough to Ferdinand. But blinded by her anger, she missed the target and got hit by Ferdinand's attack.

Kunzite went in with his sword. Usually the calmest warrior of them all, but amid the resurfacing memory and badly wounding his own brother, Kunzite was not in his best mind to fight either. Ferdinand dodged his sword and then hit him with his bombing attack.

Seeing that Mars and Kunzite were in danger, Venus, Jupiter and Nephrite stepped in. They all launched their attacks on Ferdinand to no avail.

"He's gotten stronger." Nephrite said.

"Is it because Metallia still controlling him?" Kunzite asked, trying to figure out what's going on.

Endymion seeing shitennou and senshi scattered all over from the fight, he had have enough.

"Stop Ferdinand! You are my brother. We will not fight!" Endymion commanded.

Everyone was taken aback by what they just heard. Most shocked of all is, of course, Ferdinand.

"You knew?" Ferdinand asked.

Endymion nodded. "I always knew."

Ferdinand still in shock, he was lost in his thought and then said. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Everybody said if I kept you around, you would come back and hurt me someday. But I never thought that. I always believed in you. I believed that you love our kingdom and you will protect it the best way you could."

"That's what I'm doing." Ferdinand lowered down, his foot touched the ground, then he walked slowly to Endymion. Face-to-face with Endymion, "Brother." He said.

Endymion took a deep breath, looking at his half-brother in the eyes, "The Middle Kingdom was long gone, Ferdinand. And not because of the Moon Kingdom, but because of Metallia and Beryl. They were controlling you."

"Beryl told me the truth." Ferdinand said.

"She knew your secret and used it against you."

Ferdinand was deep in his thoughts, what Endymion said seemed to make sense, but he brushed those thoughts aside and said, "No!" He pulled out his sword and pointed it to Endymion, "You are still blinded by the moon princess."

The sword fight between Endymion and Ferdinand began. Ferdinand attacked the prince several times, but he managed to fend off his half-brother's attacks. However, he was getting weaker and weaker, from helping Jadeite and from this fight. It was obvious to everyone that Endymion didn't have an intention to kill Ferdinand, but Ferdinand seemed to have his mind set on killing Endymion. Endymion started to feel light-headed. He had been using too much energy helping Jadeite. Endymion felt down, Ferdinand went in with his sword aiming for Endymion's next. Sailor Moon started to panic. "No Endymion!" Sailor Moon was transformed into her princess form.

The bright light from Serenity's transformation stunned Ferdinand and caused him to take a step back.

"Endymion!" Serenity rushed in to help him get up.

"No more fighting. We'll free him." She whispered to him.

Serenity and Endymion regrouped with everyone. Serenity pulled out her crescent moon rod. She aimed at Ferdinand, calling power from everyone. Endymion stood beside her and put his energy in. Mars, Jupiter and Venus helped as well. The bright light started to get bigger and then right before it reached Ferdinand, the stones on all shitennou's heads started to resonate, including the unconscious Jadeite. The four light from shitennou went in and combined with everyone's power. The light engulfed Ferdinand. He closed his eyes and started to remember his past.

He saw what happened more clearly. Everything. From the turn of the shitennou to the last battle on the moon. He saw himself handing the four shitennou stones over to Beryl, that's how she could control shitennou.

He saw the truth and he knelt on all four, feeling all his guilt. "It was all my fault!" He had a vacant look.

He looked apologetically at the three standing shitennou, "I handed over your stones to Beryl. I thought I was trying to get you back to our side so we could help the earth together, but she ended up controlling all of us." Ferdinand closed his eyes, feeling defeated.

Serenity stepped forward, "It's not your fault, Ferdinand. You were controlled by Beryl and Metallia too."

Then the cave started shaking heavily. Everyone started to panic, except Ferdinand.

Ferdinand stood up. " This is the last of my power. Brother, I know you remember what my power is." He looked at Endymion.

"The quake," Endymion said slowly.

"You all have to get out. This cave will collapse within minutes," Ferdinand said.

"Then come out with us. We can have a new life together, Ferdinand." Endymion said.

Ferdinand shook his head slowly, dejectedly. "I don't have a corporal form, Endymion. This is merely the projection of my energy and willpower. That's why I needed the shitennou in the beginning. I needed time to gather enough energy to create this form. But it will go away as soon as I run out of the energy I gathered."

Serenity yelled, "We'll help you, Ferdinand. Come with us." The quake started to get stronger.

Ferdinand inhaled. "No, let I atone for my mistake. I will bury the Dark Kingdom and all the remaining dark energy. This way, no one from our past could cause you trouble again."

More and more stones and rocks fell down.

"We have to hurry, Serenity." Venus said trying to get Serenity to get out, but she still glued to Endymion, who was still looking at his half-brother.

"Don't do this, Ferdinand!" Endymion said.

"Consider it my gift to your new life, brother." Ferdinand looked determined but sad.

The quake was getting stronger, Endymion had to kneel down to control his position.

"I'm so sorry, brother." Ferdinand's tears streaming down slowly.

"I'm glad to have you as my brother. If there is a next life, I hope we'll be brothers again." Endymion said to him.

Ferdinand closed his eyes and the quake was getting stronger. Everyone leapt out of the cave.

When the quake stopped, they were all still at the north pole, but the cave that used to be Dark Kingdom was gone. Not even a trace left. No sign that it had been there.

Endymion knelt down on the snow, he touched the ground softly. "Thank you, brother. Please rest in peace from now on."

Zoicite yelled, "Everyone we have to hurry. Jadeite's pulse is slowing way down!"

—

AN. Finally the fight is over. Now let's see how everyone's getting back to their normal lives. Again, I apologize for the fighting scene. This chapter was really difficult for me to write, for some reason. Could be because of all the turmoils in my life right now. I hope I did a decent enough job to move the story forward. The ending is coming. I'm a little sad that this story will end soon, but at the same time, I can't wait to get senshi and shitennou back together. As usually, please review! I'd love to hear what you think.

Special thanks to

gabicg1: Glad you like the last chapter :)

persian85033 : Glad you like the scene. I'd love to write more romantic scenes between senshi and shitennou. They deserve to have their happy moments.

Lucky's Girl : Thanks, I like writing Nephrite in first person. It really took me to see how he felt about Jupiter.

Flareup4Ratchet : I'm happy you like the story. Venus/Kunzite are becoming my favorite too. When first started this story, I didn't have any idea for them. I'm shaping their characters and personalities along the way. You can do that too. I'm eagerly waiting to read your stories :) Drop me a PM if you decide to write one (or more).

Moonprincess998 : Glad you like the last two chapters. They are my favorite! I love getting them together in nature.


	34. Guilt

Chapter 34: Guilt

Junichi was in the hospital for a month. Mamoru managed to get the sword out and healed him enough to convince the doctors at the hospital that this was a normal injury from robbery. But the fact that Junichi remained unconscious for a month puzzled the doctors. Even though his injury seemed to be healing nicely and he didn't seem to have a head injury, they couldn't figure out why he still remained unconscious.

Ken and Rei were there everyday. Junichi's parents didn't know yet. Ken didn't want to worry their parents for no reason. Ken felt incredibly guilty for being a reason that his little brother had to stay in the hospital. Whether or not he would wake up is another puzzle. If Junichi never woke up, Ken would never be able to forgive himself.

Mamoru was puzzled too. He tried to see what's wrong with Junichi's head, but he couldn't find anything. Ami and Zac tried and failed to see anything as well. But Rei knew why.

Rei knew it was something spiritual. Junichi still felt so guilty about what he did to her in the past. He didn't hear Ferdinand's confession that would relieve him from his guilt of betraying her. Rei tried to contact Junichi through the sacred fire, but still couldn't find a way to get to him. He didn't know that she forgave him. She already has forgiven him even before knowing the truth from Ferdinand. She loved him too much to not forgive him, but her pride made her lips seal tight. Now she regretted it. Had she told him, he might find a strength to wake up again.

Ken was probably feeling worse than anyone else. It was his doing. Sure, he was possessed by evil power when he did it, but it didn't make it not happen. He felt like he was repeating the same mistake, only this time, he committed his crime on his brother instead of his lover.

Ken was alone with Junichi in the hospital room. After the battle, he had since transferred to a university in Tokyo. He needed to take care of his brother. He prayed days and nights for his brother to wake up.

Ken was sitting on the white chair beside Junichi's bed. He looked out the window, dejectedly.

The door opened slowly. Minako in her school uniform emerged from behind the door.

"Hi Ken. Are you ok?" She whispered softly, unlike her usual cheerful self.

Ken nodded slightly. He sighed and then looked at his little brother on the bed.

Minako put the food down on the table.

"You need to eat something, Ken." She put down the bento she bought for both of them. It's at times like this that Minako wished she had a housewife cooking skill like Mako-chan.

Ken held out his hand to take the bento from her. This had been their routine since they came back. "Thanks." He smiled at her, but still looked sad.

"How's he doing?" Minako asked Ken.

"As usual. Nothing new," he said, painfully.

"I think we should move him back to our apartment soon. There's nothing they can do for us here at the hospital anyway. Now that his wound is completely healed. It seemed like a good time to do it." Ken said.

Minako nodded. Right now Ken was staying at Junichi's apartment.

Minako sat down next to Ken. They both ate in silence. Minako wanted to cheer Ken up, but she had tried that in vain for a month. She now accepted that her boyfriend would need some time to heal his guilt towards his brother.

Ken closed down the bento that he had finished and reached for the orange soda Minako put on the table. He looked gratefully at her.

"Thank you for being here with me," Ken said.

She reached to hold his hand. "I'm happy to be here with you." She smiled at him, the smile that always brighten his heart. For a second, he forgot about his guilt. Once again Minako had really proven herself to be a light in his life.

"Is Rei coming?" Minako asked.

"She was here earlier. She went out to get some fresh air."

Minako walked to the window and looked outside, seeing her friend sitting still on the bench in the hospital garden. Rei seemed to be staring into space.

For 30 days in a row, Rei and Ken have been by Junichi's side. No much said between them but everyone can see that Junichi's condition weighed heavily on their hearts.

"You should go get some air too, Ken. I'll stay here with Junichi," Minako said.

Ken looked at Minako, figuring out what she was implying.

"You two need to talk. You and Rei," Minako said.

Ken followed Minako's eyes outside to the raven-hair girl. Maybe Minako's right.

—

Ken was walking slowly to the hospital garden. Upon getting closer, he saw Rei's blank expression. He sat down next to her, looking at the garden.

"It wasn't your fault, you know." Ken uttered.

"It wasn't your fault either." She said back, still not looking at him.

They remained silent as they contemplating what had happened.

"I hurt him. I stuck my sword into him." Ken said with tears welling up.

Rei turned to him. "I hurt him too." Rei looked back straight and then looked down at the ground. "I told him I didn't want him in my life. I told him he shouldn't have been reincarnated."

Ken gave a long and shaken sigh. They both sat in silent as they tried to process their emotions.

"He's always known you are his soulmate." Ken said, causing Rei to turn to look at his profile.

Ken turned to look at Rei. "He's always telling me about the girl in his dream. That she's a beauty in a graceful way. That she has a silky black hair. That she's a little psychic and has a temper, but looks adorable when she smiles."

Rei smiled slightly listening to Ken.

"I thought he was just imagining things, you know, like how little girls dream of their soulmates."

"But he really knows you, Rei. Even before you two met in this life."

Rei let her tears down. In her heart, she knew it too. She felt his presence even before she met him, but she had let her anger blind her.

"Let's trust him." Ken looked at Rei.

"Trust him that he will get out of this." Ken grabbed her shoulder gently.

Rei shut her eyes one more time to let all the tears out. She then looked at Ken. "He will." She nodded.

Minako smiled seeing two souls consoling each other. They both deserved it.

—

The next day, Ken stayed at the hospital after his classes. Minako stopped by after school as usual.

"Ken look! I've brought a sunflower." Minako handed him the flower, trying to cheer him up.

Ken smiled and looked at the flower and then at his love. She always knew how to cheer him up, even at times like this.

"He will wake up soon. I can feel it," Minako said.

Ken was grateful for her words, but being an optimistic that she was, she thought that everyday. He was more realistic. Yes, he had hoped his brother would wake up, but there was still no sign that could convince him that would happen. His cheerful goddess was the one helping him keep his hope alive.

While Minako and Ken were looking at each other, trying to comfort each other. Minako noticed Junichi's finger twitching.

"Ken, look!"

They then saw Junichi's eyelids fluttered. Then he opened his eyes slowly. Minako covered her mouth with her hands in awe.

Ken almost cried. "Junichi!"

Junichi turned to see Ken and Minako, still feeling a little fuzzy.

"Ken." Junichi tried to lift his head up, but was stopped.

"Just rest. No need to get up." Ken said.

"Where am I? What happened?" Junichi asked.

Ken looked guilty. He told his brother, "I stabbed you, in the cave, at the Dark Kingdom."

"Oh." Junichi's memories came slowly back to him. That's right, he was protecting Mars from the evil Kunzite.

"I'm so sorry, Jun." Ken said

"So you are back to normal now?" Ken nodded.

"What about Ferdinand?"

"We defeated him. Everyone is ok now." Minako chimed in.

Junichi nodded slowly.

"What about Rei?"

"She's at the shrine." Minako said.

"I'm gonna go see her." Junichi tried to get up.

"Hang on, Jun. You've been unconscious for a month. You can't just get up and run out like that."

Junichi managed to sit on the bed, still feeling woozy. "A month? I've been here for a month?"

"Yeah." Ken said. "So lie down and let the doctor check you before going anywhere." Ken pressed the button to call for a doctor.

Junichi rested back down on the bed. His face turned to worry. Minako immediately knew what he was thinking.

"Rei really misses you. " Minako said.

"I don't think I can face her again." Junichi looked down dejectedly.

"We all know the truth. Ferdinand stole your stone and gave it to Beryl. You had no free will at that point. It was just your body, not your mind. None of us holds that against you." Minako said. "including Rei."

Junichi lost in his thoughts but was interrupted by doctor and nurse coming in.

—

AN. Sorry for the delay. Life's been crazy lately, and it will be for a while. But I really want to finish the story no matter what. Just one or two more chapters. Please bear with me.

Thank you everyone for reading. Reviews and comments are always appreciated.

Special thanks to: gabicg1 , Moonprincess998 , Reidite88, Lucky's Girl , Guest, James Birdsong and megdotcom


	35. Together

Chapter 35: Together

"Rei, I came here to say goodbye." Junichi said, catching Rei's attention away from sweeping the shrine's yard. Rei looked at him and then looked down on the floor.

"I know what I have done are the most heinous and despicable things. And they cannot be forgiven, so I'll make it easy on you and get out of your life. You don't have to worry about seeing me again." Junichi said. Rei still remained silent.

"Take care, Rei." Junichi said, starting to turn his back on her and walking away.

"Junichi, wait!" Rei called out, causing Junichi to turn back and face her.

"Is this what you want?" Rei said with a shaken voice.

"I want to make you happy, Rei." Junichi said.

"You always assume you know me. You always assume you know what I want." Rei said, a bit angrily.

Junichi sighed. "I'm sorry, Rei. I can't do anything right for you."

Rei walked closer to Junichi and looked into his eyes. "Do you think you leaving is what I really want?"

Rei and Junichi remained silent, still locking into each other's eyes.

"I'm sorry for everything, Rei! Leaving you is breaking my heart, but I thought you would be happy. I don't know what else to do!" Junichi said with frustration. "Tell me how I can fix this. I'll do anything!" Junichi said

"Stay." Rei uttered the word that had been in her mind for a long time, but was afraid to say.

"What?" Junichi said with surprise.

"I said stay!" Rei yelled.

"Do you … forgive me?" Junichi asked.

"I didn't want to. But when I thought you were dying, I couldn't feel anything more painful. Then I realized I'm only hurting both of us by not forgiving you." Rei said while looking away from his gaze.

"Rei, are you sure?" Junichi asked.

"I was wrong to put all the blames on you. It was my fault as much as it was yours. Yes, the part where you got brainwashed was all yours. But for our relationship, I had to take responsibilities as well. I made the decision that night, and I had to take responsibilities for that." Rei said.

"Rei, don't blame yourself. I was wrong to take advantage of you while you were vulnerable." Junichi said.

"No, I'm not blaming myself. I just see things in a more mature perspective. We were two young people in love, that was it. What we did was the result of that. We never meant to hurt each other. And I've learned that during our last fight." Rei said.

"I'm still mad at you for getting yourself brainwashed by Beryl, twice! But I still want to have you in my life. We can start over." Rei said.

"Rei." Junichi looked at Rei.

"I mean if that's what you want." Rei said while looking down and continued sweeping.

Junichi sighed. "I'd love nothing more than to be a part of your life, but the sins I committed were too much. I'd always be wondering if I would hurt you again or if you would still be hurt just to be near me. I don't know if I can take it causing you that much pain."

"You're probably right." Rei said, causing Junichi to look down at the ground.

"But you leaving will be more painful than you staying." Rei said, causing Junichi to look back at her.

"If you really want to atone for your mistakes, then stay. I'll make sure to torture you for the rest of your life. I can roast you well, you know." Rei said with a grin.

"But I killed our … child."

"Yes, that was an unfortunate incident, but we can always start over."

"You mean having another child?" Jun said mischievously.

Rei playfully punched him on his arm, "Not for at least another 10 years, you jerk!."

Jun smiled playfully and hugged Rei despite she still kept punching him. "I'll take that as a yes then!"

Realizing her mistakingly said what's on her mind, Rei blushed and punched him even harder, which caused Junichi to hug her even tighter.

"Thank you for giving me another chance." He buried his face in her hair. She got out of his embrace, turned to face him.

"I'm giving _us _another chance. Let's make things right this time." They both looked lovingly at each other and then embraced each other.

—

"See? I told you it'd work!" Minako said with joy, standing behind a tree in Hikawa shrine. After seeing Rei and Junichi made up, she couldn't contain her joy.

"I can't believe you told him to lie to Rei," Ken said.

"It's not lying, it's just …." Minako tried to come up with a better word, or excuse for her devious plan. "It's just making a dramatic scene so Rei feels the need to express how she feels." Minako looked at Ken, while he's shaking his head.

"Rei's going to be so mad at you and Jun if she finds out." Ken crossed his arms.

Minako smiled at him, then glanced at the direction of Rei and Junichi. "No, she's not. I know her, Ken. She might lash out with a few words, but deep down I know she'll be happy." Minako smiled at the sight of her friend making up with her lover.

Ken still looked unsure. Minako looked back at him.

"Because some of us like to seal their lips tight and don't have the courage to express how they feel, so they need a little help." Minako winked, then walked closer to Ken. Her face was near him. "Right?"

Ken knew she was talking about him now. Yes, he wasn't the one who liked to express his feeling very well. It's not something he's good at. That's why he got the reputation from being a stoic, stone-faced leader. It's hard for him to express his feeling even to his prince. Being with Sailor Venus, the Goddess of love, has of course softened him a little.

"I think I'm better at that in this life, Minako. You'll see." Ken smiled warmly at her.

"Come here." Ken took her hand and led her away from Hikawa shrine.

"Where are we going?" Minako asked curiously.

"I thought you like surprises." Ken looked back at her, like a young boy being in love for the first time. This is the boyish smile that she has missed so much.

"I'll go wherever you take me, Ken." Minako said, causing Ken to blush a little and then he looked at his love. How is it possible that he's been living without her all these times? She's like the missing piece of his soul.

Ken led Minako to the cafe in Juuban commercial district.

Minako looked at the sign in front of the cafe. "This is…"

"This is where we'll have our first official date." Ken turned to look at her.

"I know it's not the most romantic place in the world, but ever since I had that soul-bond dream about us, I've decided that I'm going to make that date real."

Minako smiled at him mischievously, like she's having something on her mind.

"Why? You don't like it?" Ken asked, worried that she thought his idea was lame.

Minako tilted her head, looking at him. "Seems like we are two peas in a pod." She proceeded to pull two movie ticket out of her skirt pocket. They were tickets to her Sailor V movie. Ken smiled widely as he saw her thought of the same thing. They looked at each other, chuckled of having the same thing in mind. He leaned down to embrace her. She took his face into her hands and said, "Well mister, take me on our first date!" She said as she started to pull him to get walking, but was pulled back into his arms.

"Minako." He looked deeply into her eyes with that serious glance of the shitennou's leader. "Thank you for letting me back into your life." His tone was soft, but conveyed seriousness.

Minako touched his cheek with her hand, "Thank you for coming back into my life." They kissed and embraced each other as if to make sure that they would never ever have to be apart again.

—

Zac was walking into the swimming pool area. He looked at Ami while she was finishing her lap.

"I'd thought I'd find you here," Zac said.

Ami looked softly at him. This was her hideout, but if anyone was going to figure it out, it would be him.

"How do you know I'm here?" Ami got out of the pool, grabbing the towel and start drying her hair slowly.

"You like to go swimming when you're sad or stressed. Your mom told me you like to come here." Zac mentioned it nonchalantly, not being a bit anxious about the fact the he already talked to her mother.

"You talked to my mother?" Ami was a bit surprised, but now that she thought about it, Zoicite had always been the one moving things forward.

"Don't worry. I just told her I needed to talk to you before I …"

"Leave?" Ami interrupted him, while sitting down on a white plastic chair near the pool. Her eyes looked downward.

Zac sat down in the chair next to hers. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, still remained silent.

Ami moved the towel to dry her body slowly but nervously, as if to find something for her hands to do while talking to him.

"I'd knew you had to leave eventually. Now that Junichi's recovered, you'd have to go back to Germany." Ami slowly turned to meet his gaze. Yes, she knew that they were both still 14. They still needed to finish their education. As much as she'd like to have him around, she couldn't stand in a way of his education.

Zac signed audibly. He didn't like seeing his water goddess like this. He didn't like to be the one that caused her any sadness.

"We can still talk. I will skype with you everyday," he said with a soft smile. "That is if you'd want to talk to me."

Ami nodded slowly and chuckled. "Why wouldn't I?"

Zac looked at the petit figure before his eyes. She is absolutely stunning.

"Ami, look at me."

"I'm moving here next year for high school." This caused Ami to abruptly turn to Zac.

"You're moving here?"

"Of course, there's no way I can be away from you for long. I just need to go back and finish my middle school. Then I'm coming here to live with my grandparents."

Ami smiled. She didn't know if she was happy or shocked or both. It was a mix of emotion.

"But I need you to promise me one thing." Zac got serious.

Ami tilted her head as if to ask what it is.

Zac took Ami's hand and held it with both hands. "Can you wait for me?"

Ami looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Can you not…" Zac started to blush. He was not the one to shy away from speaking things from his heart. But somehow he felt this sentence was difficult. "date anyone else?"

Ami put her other hand to her chin and chuckled. Zac was not feeling funny.

"This is not a joke, Ami. I mean it!"

Ami turned to face him. "After everything we've been through, you'd think I'd go out with anyone else?"

"Besides no one's going to ask me out. I'm just a shy little nerd."

"You greatly underestimate your beauty, Ami." This time Ami was the one to blush.

"I know I have no right to ask you this because I'm not your boyfriend or anything. And I can't even be here to take care of you. But I'd really like a chance to reconnect with you as a couple."

Ami looked strongly at him. "We don't have to live the same lives as we did in the past." Zac was shocked. Did she mean she didn't want to be with him? Not even a chance?

"Listen." Ami said. "I promise to not go out with anyone else."

Zac smiled. Ami moved closer, almost touching his face.

"But that doesn't mean we'll end up together. I'd like to see if we are …" She tried to think of a word, "compatible in this lifetime."

"What do you mean?" It was not unusual for his lady to speak in such a riddle. But this was not the time to leave room for interpretation.

"I'll wait for you. I'm not going to date anyone else while you're away."

"But that doesn't make us a couple. I'm just waiting for you to ask me out when you move here."

"Thank you, Ami. That's all I could ask."

"Also, you're not allowed to date anyone either." Ami said.

"Oh now you're jealous?" Zac teased

"No, I just think it's unfair that I can't date but you can. This is a two-way street."

"I don't want to be with anyone else." Zac said.

"What makes you think I do?" Ami asked.

"I know you'll want to give us a chance. I'm just afraid of some nerds going to ask you out. That's all." Zac said.

"So you're so sure I'm still attracted to you, huh?" Ami looked playful.

"You're not?"

Ami walked away, turning her back to him. "We'll find out when you move here."

"Come on, I can't wait that long!"

"Once you move here, you can make your moves, General." Ami smiled mischievously.

Zac moved closer to her. "And you won't be able to resist my charm."

"That confident?" Ami tilted her head, still looking at him.

Zac nodded, "Yeah." She actually liked this little cocky side of him. As someone who's unsure of herself, it was reassuring to have someone so confident besides her. That was true since the last lifetime.

Ami slowly lifted her hand, reluctantly touched his face. "I'll wait."

Zac took her hand and kissed it softly. He would have loved to embrace her, but their relationship needed to move slowly this time, and he is happy to wait.

—

"Hi" Makoto welcomed Nate to her apartment. She didn't look so happy.

"Don't make that face, Mako-chan. You look better smiling, you know." Nate said while holding her in his arms.

"I know everything is peaceful again, but I'm sad that you are leaving in two weeks. I know you said that we'll keep in touch and everything. With the technology, we can facetime everyday, and you promise you will come visit me now and then. But it won't be the same, Nate." Makoto said.

"I know, my Jupiter. But I actually have some news that might cheer you up." Nate said with a smirk.

"What is it?" Makoto asked curiously.

"I just got accepted to MIT. I will start in the fall." Nate said while showing her his acceptance letter."

"Oh Nate, I'm so happy for you. This has always been your dream. One step closer to being an astronaut." She said while throwing her arms around his neck.

"But that's not the good news that I hope will cheer you up." Nate grinned.

"That's not? It's the most wonderful news, what could possibly be better than you realizing your dream?" Makoto asked.

"I just got off the phone with my parents and they agreed with my, um plan." Nate struggled trying to find the right words.

"What plan?" Makoto said.

"I'll go to MIT, and when you graduate high school, we can get married and you can move there with me. I mean, if that's what you want." Nate was usually confident in the way he carried himself and how he spoke, but this sentence was particular hard to form. He then got down on one knee, picked the ring box out of his pocket, and then opened it in front of Makoto. Inside the box, a beautiful pink rose ring sitting inside.

"What? What did you say? What?!" Makoto stuttered with surprise.

"I know we haven't dated very long and we are still young, but we know each other for more than one lifetime. And now that I found you again, I only want to make you happy. You don't have to give up your dream, Makoto. You can go to culinary school there, and once you graduate, you can open your own restaurant. My parents have a few restaurants they invested in already, so it shouldn't a problem getting you …" Makoto interrupted him with a kiss.

"That's not what I was worried about, you idiot." Makoto smiled.

"Then what is it?" Nate asked.

"I just want to make sure of one thing." Makoto said.

"Yes?"

"Are you really asking me to marry you?" Makoto asked.

"Yes, I'm sorry if this isn't the most romantic proposal in the world, but …" Nate said, but got interrupted.

"I don't know what to say, Nate." Makoto said.

"Say yes." Nate said still down on one knee.

"Yes, you idiot!" Makoto said and hugged him. He put the ring on her left ring finger. He then held her up by her waist and spun her around. Finally, he dropped her to her feet and kissed her.

"You know, I'm going to be an MIT student. You can't call me idiot anymore." He winked.

"You'll always be my idiot, you idiot!" Makoto said while playfully punched his strong muscular arm.

"Yeah, for the rest of our lives." Nate smiled and planted his kiss on her lips again.

—

AN. What do you all think? I hope you like how things has settled down with our four favorite couples. I already finished the next chapter, just need to clean up a bit. Should be up within a week. I can't believe the story is almost finished.

I'm thinking of writing 4 episodes as epilogue, one for each couple. Probably set a few years after the ending. Would be fun to see how they develop after a few years together. Would you like to read that?

Special Thanks to

gabicg93 : Glad you liked the last chapter. I'm really happy I got to put some scene for Rei/Jun.

TropicalRemix : Do you like how things worked out with Rei/Jun?

Reidite88 : Many thanks

persian85033 : Do you like their reunions?

Moonprincess998 : I started to really like Junichi the further I write the story. He's one of my favorite guys now :)

Lucky's Girl: Glad you liked it. They do deserve some time to reflect on what happened before they can move forward.

James Birdsong : Thank you so much.

Summer: Thank you so much for your comment. You don't know how much your words mean to me. I'm really glad someone likes the story. You give me motivation to write the next one!


	36. New beginning

Chapter 36: Happy beginning

"I can't believe you proposed to her!" Ken said.

"Yeah, in these days and age, who proposed to a 14-year-old girl?" Zac said.

"Hey! During Silver Millennium, people get married at 14!" Nate argued.

"We are not in Silver Millennium anymore, Nate." Junichi said.

"I don't care. I love her, she loves me, and I know we are going to end up together anyway. What's the harm in proposing a little early?" Nate said.

Zac smirked, "You just want to declare to the whole world that she's yours. You're afraid anyone will hit on her while you're gone."

Nate was a bit upset that his brother-in-arm knew him so well. "Can you blame me? Look at her!" Nate gestured to the girls talking, while Makoto showing them the ring.

Nate was back in his thoughtful mode. "She's the most beautiful, strong and independent woman. I want to be here everyday. Protect her. Support her. It pains me so much that I can't be here."

"I don't think Makoto needs anyone to protect her," Mamoru chuckled.

"Come on! Mamoru, you know what I mean!" Nate said.

Nate was noticing Zac was looking at his blue-haired angle and lost in his thoughts.

"You're not afraid someone's going to ask Ami out while you're gone?" Nate asked, bringing Zac out of his temporary trance.

Zac raised his eyebrow. "I'm not insecure like you, Nate. I trust that Ami will wait for me." Of course, he wasn't going to tell Nate about their little 'agreement.'

"So sure of yourself, huh?" Nate asked.

Zac smirked and nodded. "Plus I'll be gone for only one year anyway." Zac shrugged and moved closer to Nate. "Not four years like you."

Ken pulled Zac's shoulder to move him away from Nate's face. "Don't rub it in his face. This is difficult for him as it is."

"Thank you, Ken. You're still the most mature of us all." Nate looked at him gratefully.

"I think you meant the oldest." Junichi said casually while working on his hang nail.

"Fine! Don't come beg me to buy you drinks when I'm at legal age." Ken shrugged.

Junichi poked his brother's side with his elbow. "Oh come on! You're not going to be mean to us. You have a soft spot for me." Jun slightly pouted and looked at his brother with his sad-puppy look.

"Now that I remember you were, and still is, a warrior, no more babying you. No matter how much mom forces me to!" Ken waved his hand.

"Yeah, you need to grow up a bit, Jun." Nate chimed in.

"Hey! I helped rescue you both, remember?" Jun said to Nate and Ken.

"That was the evil's doing, not our faults." Nate crossed his arms.

"And we agreed not to bring it up." Zac chimed in.

Mamoru watched the good-natured brotherly bickering. It reminded him of the old days, back in the Middle Kingdom. It felt good to have his them back again.

_I'm thankful. I finally have my brothers back again. With Usagi by my side and my brothers back in my life, I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I can't believe how everything worked out. I wish Ferdinand was here too, but that would be too selfish of me. Ferdinand deserves to move on. He deserves to have a new life, free of fetter of the old past. As for me and my brothers, I'm grateful we can make peace with the past and enjoy the presence now. We've had so much happiness in our lives before they were destroyed by the war between the Moon and the Earth. It has taken two lifetimes, but we have finally arrived at our happy ending, or rather, a new beginning. Our memories are there, but they no longer trapped us in our past. We now have a chance to design our new beginning, and we will definitely make it a happy one._

—End—

AN. I can't believe it's the end of the story already. I'm thinking about writing an epilogue for each couple, so keep an eye out of that. I also have an idea for a new story featuring senshi/shitennou. If you want to get an update, please favorite or follow me as a writer.

Thank you so much for all your readers. I almost didn't finish this story, but with encouragement and support from all of you, I finally finished it. Thank you for reading!


	37. Epilogue I: Winter

Winter

"I understand, Mom. Patients need you." I say.

"Are you sure you'll be ok?" my mom asks.

I nod and then realize that I'm on the phone. "I'm ok, mom. Don't worry."

"We'll go to the temple together tomorrow, ok Ami?" Mom says. She sounds apologetic. I don't know why. It's not her fault that our new year is ruined.

I hang up the house phone. I'm glancing at my cell phone. His text is right there. "Sorry, Ami. I couldn't find a flight back. Happy New Year, Dad."

It's my own fault for getting my hopes up. How many time has he disappointed me? I gave up a long time ago that he would ever come back to my life. But this year, why did he have to get my hopes up only to destroy it a few days later?

I try to hold back tears. I'm stronger than this. I'm not going to let this get me down. I walk to the desk. Maybe I will read something. Then I see the New Year present and the card I got for dad.

I can't hold back anymore. Tears rolls down my eyes slowly. I wiped my face with the tissue. I can't cry for him. No, not again.

I walk to the glass door of the balcony. It's a cold night. So everyone says. I never feel it. I normally love the cold. But now that I'm alone again, I feel it. The cold, the loneliness, the emptiness.

I lean against the glass door, looking at the city, bustling with people. It's New Year's eve. Everybody's doing something fun. I usually don't get envious at people, but today I do. I thought I was going to have my family back together for the first time in years, but that didn't happen. Dad cancelled at the last minute, as usual. Mom stays at the hospital. She was going come home early, but not anymore.

I cross my arms, looking at the dark canvas of Tokyo's skyline. Sometimes I wonder if someone would miss me if I had disappeared.

Then I see a line of ice frosts across my glass door. It appears only for a second. Then the next one comes. Again for a second. Then again and again. All the frost lines seem to draw me somewhere. My eyes follow the frost, I think of the only time this had happened before. Then my eyes meet his.

"Zoicite" I almost yelled. There he is, in his shitennou uniform and everything.

"Good evening, milady" He made a hand gesture and bowed. I couldn't help but giggle. If anyone would make me smile in times like this, it's him.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

"Oh no, Ami. That can't be the first thing you say when you see me. It should be this." He leans over and hugs me by surprise. He holds me tight. "I miss you." He says.

I hug him back. "I miss you too." I am tearing up again. What is it with today?

I part from him. I'm falling deep into his eyes.

"I want to surprise you. My flight just landed, and I came straight to see you."

He got a flight from Germany? My dad's in Germany but he said he couldn't get a flight out. That hurts a little. Am I not important enough for him?

Zac must have seen my reaction. "What's wrong?" He asks and follows my gaze.

"Nothing." I looked at him. He tilted his head slightly. Of course, he doesn't believe me. I should have given up trying to hide anything from him a long time ago.

"My dad was going to be here for New Year's eve, but he cancelled."

I must have looked like a sad puppy because he hugs me again. This time even tighter. It's great though. It's great to have someone who's always there for me.

He parts from me but still grabs my shoulders. "Let's go have fun. I'll take you to see the lights, the shops, the people in the city."

"I don't know, Zac. I don't feel like going out."

"No, no I refuse to let you have a sad start to the New Year. You are coming with me." He makes a few hand gestures in the air and the carriage made from ice appears.

I smile again. He sure knows how to make me happy.

"Ok, but we will go down the elevator and walk, like normal people."

He waves and the ice carriage disappear. "Your wish is my command."

"And not in that." I referred to his shitennou uniform.

He looks at me mischievously. "I thought you liked me in a uniform."

I guess I did say that, once, maybe. "I do, but I feel like being Ami tonight, not Sailor Mercury."

A whirl of ice circles around him and he is back in his normal cloth. He looks good in his black leather jacket though.

"Come on! Let's go" He pulled my hand. A few minutes and we are out the door.

—

"Here we go." He hands me an ice-cream cone.

"Thanks." I take it and start licking it without any hesitation. For some reason, I feel so free being with him.

He sits down beside me. We are in the middle of the walking street. Not a lot of people are hanging out here though. Most is just trying to get somewhere. Well, I get it. It's freezing right now. But I like it. I cherish it.

He starts on his ice-cream. "You know, people might starting thinking we are crazy. I thought you wanted to be normal today."

"What's crazy about getting an ice-cream?"

He widens his eyes. "Outside? in a below zero temperature? with this strong wind? We sure look crazy, Ami."

He has a point. But that's why I like it. I feel like we are the only two people in the world.

"But I'm willing to be crazy, if it makes you happy." He looks at me with that look again. I'm already in love with him. He doesn't have to try so hard.

I feel blood rushing my cheek, and not from the cold.

"Hey! The countdown's starting!" He points to the giant screen in the middle of shopping district. I follow his finger.

"3-2-1 Happy New Year" I hear the fainting sound of people cheering.

I feel his warm touch embraces me and his lips touch mine. I kiss him back.

We devour in the happiest moment for a few second. I never want it to end.

We part for air. "Happy New Year" he said.

"Happy New Year, Zac." I say to him with a big smile on my face. This year will surely be better than the last.

—

I am walking home with Zac. We are holding hands. I actually feel like I'm skipping. I'm that happy.

I see a shadow in front of the apartment.

I walk slowly, taking caution. I hold on to Zac tighter.

"Dad." I blurt out. He is in his giant overcoat, soaking wet.

"Why?…How?" My tongue is tied.

He takes off his hat. "I was on waitlist. Luckily someone didn't show up, so I got the last seat."

I cover my mouth with my hands. I can't believe it. He spent hours at the airport waiting for a flight.

I rush over and hug him. "Dad" I thought I didn't miss him that much, but seeing him here makes me realize how much I've missed him all these years.

I hear the sound of my mom's shoes clicking on the floor. I turn and see mom walking toward us.

I'm happy beyond words. Am I dreaming? I actually have my mom and dad together today?

I am in so much joy. I forget that Zac is there. Dad notices him though.

"Hi I'm Ami's dad." Dad tries to shake hand.

"Nice to meet your Mr. Mizuno. I'm Zac."

"You're … Ami's friend?"

"He's my boyfriend." Zac looks at me, not believing his ears.

Dad looks back at me. "You have a boyfriend? Did you know this?" He looked at mom.

Mom shook her head, of course, I haven't told her yet.

"Zac. This is my mother." I don't know what else to say.

Zac shakes hand with my mom. "Pleasure to meet you." He doesn't look scared one bit. So different from when he met my Mercurial parents.

"Where are you from?" Dad asks Zac. Of course, Zac doesn't look Japanese."

"I'm from Germany."

"Your Japanese is really good." Mom says. I make a mental note to thank her later for breaking the awkwardness.

"My father's Japanese."

"So how did you know each other?" Mom asks.

"I was an exchange student at Ami's school."

Mom looks at me like she can't believe what she's hearing. I know I'm not the type that gets a boyfriend this early, but Zac is an exception. He's Zoicite. We didn't just meet. We have been together, and I am determined to have him in my life, openly.

"Well, it's getting cold out here in the hall. Why don't we go inside and get some tea? Zac, would you like to join us?" Mom asks. She's polite as always.

Zac's out of word. It's kind of cute seeing him like this. It's rare for him. Usually he's go articulate.

"We are going to the temple in the morning. I'd love it if you can join us."

Zac hesitates for a moment there. He looks at me asking for an answer. I nod.

"Yes, Mrs. Mizuno. I'd like to stay."

Mom opens the door. Dad follows, leaving me and Zac in the hall.

Zac whispers to me "Are you sure we're ready for this?"

I give my determined look at him. "I started my new year with you, Zac."

"Now you'll have to be with me for the rest of it." I smile.

"My pleasure, milady."

—

AN. Happy New Year, everybody! Sorry for the absence. I have had the idea for epilogue for a long time but school gets super busy. I also tried out writing from the first character's POV. I hope it's not too confusing. I'm practicing and I hope I will get better this year :) Also thank you so much for the wonderful comments. It's great to know that someone's still reading this. You are my motivation to continue this epilogue. Next one is Makoto's spring! (which I will try to finish before the actual spring.) Happy New Year 2017!


End file.
